


The Unexpected Reward

by nalu4emily



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Children, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:22:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 101,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23811520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nalu4emily/pseuds/nalu4emily
Summary: Natsu and Lucy go on a job together, but what they bring home is something neither anticipated. Forced to make a life changing decision, they have to adapt quickly, but that's never easy, especially given the circumstances. As they work together on their toughest adventure yet, they find themselves drawn to one another, in ways they never realised. Nalu/cute/fluff/multi-chapter.
Relationships: Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 86
Kudos: 339





	1. The Reward

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 - I do not own Fairy Tail.

"Natsu, I'm not walking all that way, we're getting on the damn train already!" Lucy yelled in frustration. There was just no way she was going to spend the better part of a week walking all the way to the other side of the country to do a job, that didn't pay all that well, bust her ass, then walk all the way home again.

Natsu looked up at her from his grovelling position on the ground, face completely green at this point, trying his hardest not to be sick at the thought of being on a train, "But Luce! I don't wanna get on the stupid train, I feel horrible enough just thinking about it. Why don't I walk and you get the train?" He whined like a petulant child. Lucy just stared him down, not amused with his suggestion, "Maybe if Happy had decided to tag along and could fly at the speed of light, that would be an acceptable idea, but as it is, it's just you and me and we're getting the train." She eyed him dangerously, her voice stern and teeming with irritation. Taking one last glance at her, Natsu decided it was no use arguing, he was never going to win. And so, as the train pulled up, he trudged into the carriage and laid himself down on Lucy's lap, desperately trying not to retch as the train pulled out of the station.

Lucy stared down at him in pity, fingers playing with his hair, she did feel guilty about making Natsu feel like this. She wished there was a way she could make him feel better, but it was pointless, not even Wendy's Troia spell worked that well any more. She sighed, it was going to be a number of hours before they made it to their destination. All she could do was try and comfort the poor boy as a way of making it up to him.

She found herself quite bored several hours in, so pulled out the request paper to have another look. The town they were headed had been set on fire and burnt down by a some stupid teenagers, and they had specifically requested a fire wizard to come and help salvage any people that may still be stuck in the debris. It wasn't great pay but Natsu had picked it and obviously expected Lucy to go with him. The rest of the team had been asked but were all busy doing their own missions, even Happy had decided to stay back, something about a bet with Pantherlily on who could eat the most fish.

The train eventually came to a halt, five hours it had taken them to reach the little town. Lucy gasped as she looked out the train window, their was smoke trailing high into the sky with bits of debris still floating about. 'I thought they said the fire had been put out?' She pondered, before waking Natsu, who had managed to fall asleep for most of the train ride. They left the train and walked out of the station. Lucy just stood their staring at the sight before her, they hadn't even reached the town yet and she already felt nervous. You could barely see six feet in front of you, the air was thick with smoke. The smell was overwhelming, the smell of smog and burning, mixed with something she could only describe as similar to rotting meat, it was disgusting and made her feel sick.

Natsu had been watching her, he understood how serious this mission was when he picked it, but he hadn't planned for how Lucy would feel about it all, he wasn't sure what they would find in the ruins. He lifted his scarf off of his neck and placed it on her shoulders, she looked over at him, unsure of his gesture, "Cover your nose and mouth with it, it'll help lessen the smell." She grabbed it and wrapped it around her so that it covered the bottom half of her face and breathed a sigh of relief, "But what about you Natsu? You're sense of smell is much greater than mine?" Natsu tugged at her hand, lacing it with his own and started walking towards the hell that was surely waiting for them. He glanced over his shoulder. "My sense of smell may be better, but smoke doesn't affect me like it does you. Plus, my nose will come in handy when trying to find people under the wreckage." She just stared and nodded at him as he turned back around and continued to walk.

They had reached the outskirts of the town, Lucy couldn't help but squeeze Natsu's hand tighter as she took in the sight before them. Natsu hadn't realised just how badly the town had suffered, he sniffed at the air, it was putrid. They needed to find the man that posted the job quickly before they rushed in to do anything. They looked around, but the land had been scorched, no buildings still stood, just piles of rubble. No one was around either, the towns residents had probably been evacuated. The sky was red and dark as the smoke covered the sunlight trying to seep through.

Lucy couldn't help the tears that had formed and were waiting to spill over. This was awful, she couldn't stop looking at what a mess the town was in. Suddenly, with another pull on her hand, "Come on Luce, staring at it isn't going to solve anything." They ventured further into the wreck, it was a death trap. Partially burnt planks of wood and sharp stones scattered over the floor, bolts and sheets of pointy metal hanging from the piles, that Lucy assumed, used to be buildings. She had to watch her step, luckily Natsu still had hold of her hand and was also being very cautious with where he was treading.

"I can't believe this is the devastation that fire can leave in it's wake." She whispered, barely audible in her shock, but Natsu heard her, with a small frown on his face, he replied, "This is what happens when it gets out of control Luce." She eyes him quizzically, "Even your fire is destructive Natsu, but I've never seen it destroy like this." With a half smile, understanding her concern, he slows to a stop as he gazes over at her, "That's because I'm in control, I'd never allow this to happen." She smiles back at him, he had brought her some comfort at least.

Out of nowhere, a man appears before them. Holding a cloth up over his nose and mouth, he removes it to greet the two mages, coughing and spluttering as he does. "You must be the wizards that have been sent here to help us?" He looks back from Natsu to Lucy, before Lucy responds, "Yes, we're Fairy Tail wizards. You must be the one who posted the request, please tell us what happened here." She looks at him thoughtfully, noticing what an awful state he's in, his eyes were blood shot and skin pale and dirty, even his clothes were in tatters.

Holding his mouth to try and prevent another coughing fit, "Yes I am." He slowly collects himself, finally able to breathe better and continues, "It happened two days ago, everyone was going about their usual business when a group of youngsters from out of town started causing a ruckus. They were trying to steal from the market sellers, after refusing to give them what they wanted. They threatened us with arson, not believing them we told them to go on their way and that's when it happened. Everything was suddenly on fire, everyone was screaming and panicking, it was chaos! I finally managed to gather some people who helped me evacuate most of the town, but when we started checking for everyone, we noticed some were still missing. So that's why I posted the job to Fairy Tail. I'm so glad you're here." The man started to well up as he spoke, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes, a serious look back on his face, he continued, "We know who is missing and we have pictures of them all, however I do not know what sort of condition they're in, that's why we asked for a fire wizard, some parts of the town are still on fire." The man took a deep breath and looked at them hesitantly.

Natsu was the first to respond, "I'm sorry for what you've all been through but we should start searching for your missing people. I can put out the rest of the fire, you can leave the rest to us." The man looked from Natsu to Lucy, before smiling, "Thank you! Here are the pictures of the missing people. There is a base that we've set up just outside the town for those that were injured in the fire, bring the survivors there and we can treat them." Lucy took the pictures from the man and nodded at him before Natsu lead them away to start searching for any one that might still be trapped.

Lucy briefly sifted through the pictures she had been given and looked around, "Where do we even start Natsu?" gazing up at him, Natsu was stood on a pile of rubble, already sniffing at the air, to see if he could pick up any human scent. "How many people are we looking for?" He asks as he continues to sniff the air. "He's given me pictures of eight people here. Can you smell anything yet?" Natsu steps down on to the ground, before taking Lucy's hand again, "I can smell a few of 'em I think. Stay close to me Luce, I don't want you getting lost in a place like this." She smiles at the back of his head, as much as she hated to admit it, she did enjoy protective Natsu, maybe a little more than she should.

A few hours had passed and the sun was slowly setting, they had managed to find five of the eight people, all alive and now being treated. They came across a building, on the other side of the town that was still partly standing, they stared at the enormity of the use-to-be hospital. Lucy eyes Natsu before speaking, "The rest of them are in there aren't they?" He glances at her before nodding, "I can smell people in there, but I'm not sure they're all alive." Natsu's words send a shiver down Lucy's spine, she knew they had to go in there and rescue them, but she wasn't sure how she was going to take seeing a charred, dead body. Luckily so far, everyone had been alright, minus a few burns here or there. Lucy grabs hold of Natsu's arm as they steadily make there way inside.

Leading the way, Natsu takes them through endless corridors, until he comes across a sign that's still legible. Upon reading it Lucy gasps, "Maternity ward." She read aloud, not liking the sound of that, she stutters out, "P-please tell me you can't smell anyone in there?" Natsu just looks forward, he pulls her with him as they slowly walk onto the ward, "Sorry Lucy, but I've got to go where my nose takes me." At first, they see nothing, no survivors, no bodies, but that doesn't make Lucy feel any less apprehensive about what might be lurking around the corner. They each look in different rooms around the ward, finding only what people had left behind.

As she walked a little further, she can hear a muffled noise. Unsure of where it was coming from, she called out for Natsu who came quickly to her side, he listens carefully and looks in the direction the noise was coming from, "This way Lucy." She follows closely behind, entering a room at the end of the corridor, the view that greets them shocks them to their core. "Natsu…" Is all she can stumble out. On a collapsed hospital bed was a young woman, gasping for breath. She catches sight of Natsu and Lucy who quickly rush over to her.

The woman had been badly burnt and she didn't look like she would last much longer. Lucy knelt down in front of her, as Natsu stayed standing, "We're mages from Fairy Tail, we've come here to rescue you, are you able to move at all?" The woman looked Lucy in the eyes as tears start to pour down her face, "Please, take him, make sure he survives." She rasps, barely able to get the words out. Lucy looks to Natsu to see what he was thinking, neither seem to understand what the woman was talking about, "Take who? We're here to rescue everyone." Lucy states, looking into the woman's eyes. The woman, noticing their confusion, looked down to her arms where laid a blanket, she attempts to remove the blanket herself but doesn't have the strength, "Here let me help you." Lucy reaches out for the blanket and folds it down, not prepared for what was under it.

"Natsu, she has a newborn baby!" Natsu quickly kneels down beside Lucy to get a better look, the woman trembles as she tries to move her arms to release the baby from her hold. "Please, I beg you, take him, let him live." Lucy hesitantly prizes the baby from it's mother's grasp, he was so cold and limp, but alive. She took Natsu's scarf from her shoulders and wrapped it around the baby to warm him, trying to clutch him close to her chest.

Taken aback by the whole situation, Natsu breaks his silence, "We need to get you out too, if you can't walk, I'll carry you to safety." Just as Natsu was about to lift the woman up, she stops him, "No, please just take my son, look after him for me. I'm not sure what happened to his father, but it doesn't matter now." her breathing becomes more laboured as she stares at Natsu, "Promise me you'll ensure his safety." Lucy, preoccupied with the baby watches from behind as Natsu hesitantly holds the woman's hand, understanding washing over him, he nods at the woman, "I promise we'll look after your son." The woman relaxes and allows herself one last look at her precious baby, "Thank you." Lucy brings the baby closer so that she can glance at him, with love and sadness in her eyes, she kisses his head and says her final goodbye, before peacefully drifting away.

Natsu stands abruptly and turns to Lucy, her eyes glazed with tears, still holding the baby close, "We need to get out of here quickly." Lucy tenses at Natsu's words, "But I thought you smelt the other's in here Natsu?" He stares at her, "I did, but I wasn't sure if they were still alive and from what I can see behind you, they're not." Lucy suddenly tries to look behind her before Natsu stops her, grasping her face with his hands, "Believe me, you don't want to see that Lucy." His voice serious, she nods at him, as she starts to make her way out of the building, Natsu following close behind.

As they reach outside again, Natsu takes a look through the pictures one more time, "I think we found everyone." he says, putting them in his pocket. Lucy, noticing the unsettled look on his face, presses further, Natsu sighs, "Don't you think it's a bit strange that he gave us pictures of everyone but there was no mention of a baby?" Lucy, subconsciously held the baby closer to her, which doesn't go unnoticed by Natsu, "Maybe they were unaware of his birth? Although I'm sure they must have known the woman was having a baby, something doesn't sit right Natsu." Natsu agrees, something just didn't feel right about the whole thing. He had just promised the woman that he would take the child to safety, but he wasn't all that sure where that would be just yet. "Let's go Luce, we need to get him treated quickly." They continue to make their way back out of town.

Arriving at the make-shift camp, they make there way through the hoards of people being treated, trying to find the guy they spoke to earlier. They spot him walking out one of the tents and run over to him. "You made it back! Any more survivors?" Natsu speaks first, "Unfortunately, the rest of the people didn't make it, however, we did find this little guy." Gesturing towards the bundle in Lucy's arms. The man's face suddenly turns into a frown, "And where did you find him?" not liking the sudden change in the man's voice, Lucy carefully, stands a bit more behind Natsu, just like a mother would to protect her child.

Natsu tenses at the situation, becoming very much aware of the strained atmosphere, "We found him with his mother, who unfortunately didn't make it. He can't be more than a few days old, does the child have a father or relative that can look after him?" shocking himself by how calm the words came out, not losing composure, he continued to stare intimidatingly into the man's eyes. Backing off slightly, the man simply shrugs, "The child has no father and no relatives, sorry I can't help you." As the man is about to turn around, Lucy speaks up, stepping out slightly from behind Natsu, "Why are you being so dismissive? He's a newborn baby! He needs to be treated. Surely there is someone here that can take him, or are you not telling us something?"

With an exasperated huff, the man turns swiftly to Lucy and scowls at her, "That baby shouldn't still be alive! I happen to be the retched things father, if it weren't for him, my wife would still be alive, he's the reason she got trapped in that hospital. I was hoping that you would have been able to save her but instead you bring me that." Disgusted by what he had just heard, Natsu grabs hold of the man's shirt and holds him up, trying his hardest not punch his squirming face, "What the hell are you talking about? He's an innocent child, I watched his mother die. I promised her I would protect her son. She died from the burns she'd suffered, not anything else. Take some responsibility."

Practically seething, Natsu waits for the pathetic man in his hold to respond. Not expecting the man to suddenly start sobbing, Natsu releases him, as he falls to the floor. "I'm sorry but I can't help you. I loved my wife, she was my everything. But that child, reminds me of everything I've now lost. I can't bare to look at him, please take him away." The man's sobs increase as he continues, "I'll give you your money and anything else you need, but I don't want him, I can't be his father." Lucy can't believe what she's hearing, what were they going to do with a new born?

Natsu looks away from the snivelling man on the floor and back up to Lucy, then at the baby cosied up on Lucy's chest, concern written on his features, "We made a promise to his mother to protect him, we can't leave him here." Lucy strokes the baby's head tenderly as she nods at Natsu, turning to address the still teary man, "Give us what we need and we'll be on our way." The man stumbles to his feet and without saying another word, sprints off to a nearby tent. Returning moments later with a bag, "H-here, take this. It has milk, clothes, medicine, diapers and bottles and the money for completing your job, plus extra should you need it." Natsu takes it from him and turns away, too angry with the guy to be in his presence any longer. Lucy took in a large breath before walking away with Natsu.

As they reach the station, they sit down and wait for the next train. Both of them speechless at the whole situation they found themselves in, they'd never dealt with any thing like this before. Out of nowhere, the baby in Lucy's arms, who had been sleeping until now, woke with a start, crying out. Panicked, Lucy looks to Natsu who seems just as clueless as she does. She brings the baby down onto her lap and tries to comfort him, but to no avail. His wails increase with each passing moment, "Is there anything in that bag that might help Natsu?" He pulls out some clothes, a diaper and a bottle with some milk, "Maybe he's uncomfortable and hungry. Pass him here, he needs to be cleaned up and fed, I can't imagine he's been taken care of properly since he was born."

Agreeing, Lucy passes the baby to Natsu, who carefully lays him on his scarf on the ground. Not wanting the baby to get cold, he warms his hands carefully as he cleans, and dresses the little one, in clothes that seem a little too big for him, wrapping him back in his scarf, holding him in his heated arms, the baby instantly relaxes. Smiling to herself, Lucy passes Natsu the bottle of milk and watches as he warms it with his hand and feeds it to the baby. "Since when do you know how to take care of a baby?" Lucy asks, slightly teasing him, he looks at her with an amused look on his face, "I don't. I have no idea, I just figured it can't be too different to when Happy first hatched, although I was also a kid then." Smiling at the memory. Looking back down at the feeding baby, Lucy takes in how protective and caring Natsu's being towards an infant he's known for barely a few hours, he just seemed so natural at this.

Shifting uncomfortably, Lucy decides to bring up the elephant in the room, "Natsu, what are we going to do? I know we promised the woman back there that we would take him to safety, but where is that exactly? For once, I don't have a solution to offer, a direct way to make this all better, not just for us but for him as well. He needs a loving family to care for him, what happens if we can't find that?" Smiling, Natsu places the empty bottle back in the bag and shifts the baby to lay against his partially exposed chest to keep him warm, looking to his side, "Calm down Luce, I get that this is huge and I don't have the answers yet either. All I know is that we promised and I intend to keep that promise, regardless of what it takes. I just need to know whether we're in this together?"

Lucy felt her heart clench at his hopeful face, looking back at the little one, she smiles, putting her hand over the one that Natsu has splayed against the baby's back, "Of course Natsu. It's always more fun when we're together."


	2. The Big Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They had made it back to Magnolia in one piece. How she’d survived that train journey with a crying newborn and a sickly dragon slayer, Lucy didn’t know. But she was glad to be home, glad to see a semblance of normality as they walked towards the city.

She had offered to carry the baby back to the guild. She just couldn’t take her eyes off of him, he was so cute and so tiny and when he was awake, he made the sweetest little noises. She felt drawn to him, not just because he was too adorable for words, but because she wanted to protect him, to keep him close to her so that he felt safe and wanted. She didn’t even know if babies had that capacity, hell, she knew nothing about babies. Panic would settle in her chest every time he cried and she felt constantly anxious when he was asleep, she wondered if all new parents worried like this?

Her breath caught in her throat as reality dawned on her, she stopped walking and stared at the little guy in her arms. She wasn’t his parent, no one was, not yet. He had been abandoned by his own father, and had no other known relatives that could claim him. This poor little innocent baby had nothing and if it hadn’t been for Natsu choosing that mission in the first place, she didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened to him. Tears sprung to her eyes as she wondered what would become of the small infant now, where would he go? She couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling that came over her.

Natsu had been walking a little in front of Lucy when he heard her stop, caught in his own thoughts. He looked back to see if she was alright, about to ask, when his words caught in his throat as he stared into her glassy eyes. She looked so sad as she glanced down at the baby. He had an idea of what could be going on inside her head, because he felt the same. He’d had plenty of time since rescuing him yesterday to think about what could happen, what options they really had, and they didn’t look promising.

He hadn’t really understood what it meant when he promised to look after the little guy, he had assumed that the child would have a relative or father to take care of him, but that was no longer the case. The only adults the child had now was himself and Lucy, and as much he would jump at the chance to take the little one in, he wouldn’t want to do it without his partner. He enjoyed watching her be so loving and motherly, it made his heart flutter and he wondered whether she would ever consider such a thing.

But in reality, their relationship was complicated. She was his best friend and along with Happy, she was his family and the closest person to him. He relied on her as much as she relied on him, and there had been many times where they had blurred that line of friendship when they were together. He knew that the feeling in his heart was different for Lucy, he knew what he wanted from her and so would purposely push the boundaries of their friendship, testing her, to see how far she would let him go and she was yet to push him away.

“Come on Luce, we need to get to the guild hall.” He said trying to snap her out of whatever it was that was upsetting her. He hated seeing her so sad, he’d do anything to see that beautiful smile.

“Guild hall? Why’re we going there? Actually, we never discussed what we were going to do. Do we even have a plan?” She asks, obviously worried about their next move. She shifts the baby in her arms and catches up to Natsu as they continue towards the guild hall.

“I thought we could talk to Gramps about this, I know it’s not much of a plan but it’s a start.” He smiles at her, hoping that the suggestion might put her at some ease. Although, he was only going to tell them what they already knew, the support of their friends would be a great help right now.

As they reached the main door of the guild hall, they could hear some of their lively friends from inside. As soon as they walked in, the baby started to stir from all the ruckus and wailed loudly. The noise echoes through the large hall, silencing everyone as they look over to where the unfamiliar sound was coming from. All eyes had landed on Lucy as she tried to hush the baby to calm him down. She suddenly felt self-conscious from all the extra attention, attempting to hide behind Natsu, who had managed to remain completely calm. He took hold of Lucy’s free hand and lead her towards the bar, ignoring all the unwelcome stares and lewd remarks he could hear people whisper about himself and his partner, relieved that he was the only one with impeccable hearing, Lucy would have been mortified.

As they reach the bar, Happy suddenly swoops in out of nowhere and lands on top of Natsu’s head, looking over at the bundle on her chest, “Whatcha got there Lucy? Is it a big, yummy fish?” He drools into Natsu’s hair, much to the fire breather’s disgust.

“No Happy, it’s not a big gross fish! It’s obviously a tiny baby and ‘it’ is a he.” Lucy barks defensively, annoyed that Happy could ever compare such a cute little face to a disgusting fish.

Natsu turns to the bar where he sees Mira eyeing them, she walks over to them with that ever present smile on her face, “Are you looking for the Master?” She asks, obviously reading the situation and wanting to help.

“Yes actually we are, where is he? We need to discuss some things with him.” Natsu says gesturing to the baby, who had finally quietened down and had gone back to sleep, snuggled sweetly into Lucy’s chest.

“He’s in the infirmary at the moment with Porlyusica. You can go down there now if you want, I’m sure he won’t mind.” She says before going back to polishing some glasses, watching as Natsu and Lucy make their way down the stairs.

As they walk into the infirmary, they notice Makarov sitting on one of the beds as Porlyusica busies herself with sorting through the medicine shelves, talking idly. Makarov smiles at them as they ask to come in and gestures to the bed opposite him for them to take a seat. He notices the baby straight away and his face becomes one of concern, he can feel the anxiety in both of the young mages, hoping that everything was alright.

“You’ve returned quicker than expected, how did your job go?” He asks, deciding to let them bring up what they’ve evidently come to see him about.

“It went well Master, only we now have a problem and was hoping for your advise on how to fix it.” Not sure where to start, Lucy continues to explain everything that happened during their mission and the situation they now found themselves in, hoping the Master may be able to offer his guidance.

Makarov takes it all in, giving himself time to think of a response he looks over to Porlyusica, who had also been listening, she’s the first to speak up. “Hand me the baby, he needs to be checked over. From what you’ve said, I doubt he’s had any medical attention since he’s been born.” The old woman walks over to Lucy, who reluctantly hands the baby over, watching him like a hawk the entire time he’s away from her. Sensing her distress, Natsu reaches down for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, feeling slightly apprehensive himself. They both watch anxiously as Porlyusica carries out her checks on the now squirming baby, waiting for the verdict.

“From what I can tell, he’s perfectly healthy. He’s definitely a fighter and has a good strong heart beat. I must say he’s a little thinner than I’d like, but regular feeds will help with that. With the right care, he’ll be thriving in no time.” She smiles fondly over to Lucy, sensing her earlier dread fade at her words.

“Did you hear that Luce? No need to worry, he’s doing just fine. What a tough little guy!” Natsu chirps, visibly pleased by the news himself, he looks at Lucy and gives her one of his trademark grins and she can’t help but grin in return.

Porlyusica wraps the baby back up in the scarf and walks over to the bed. Standing briefly, Natsu takes the baby from her, sensing he needed changing and feeding while they resumed their discussion with Makarov.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there really aren’t that many options available to him. It really depends on what you want for him that will make all the difference in making your final decision.” Makarov explains, trying to convey the seriousness of it all.

“I want him to be loved and cared for, like any decent person would. I want him to have a family and for him to be happy.” Lucy explains, “Is that so much to ask for?” her voice wavers. She can feel the tears building up again as she looks over to Natsu, who was currently feeding the poor little thing.

Natsu turns to her, “It’s what I want too Lucy. Of course I want him to be happy and to have a family, but things just aren’t that simple.” He feels his heart constrict, saddened by the look on her face.

“Natsu’s right. If that’s what you truly want for the little one, then giving him to a children’s home is out of the question.” Makarov starts, watching as both mages nod their heads. Not even considering that as a possibility. “Then kids, you really do have one of two options; you either keep him until you can find a suitable family yourselves that will take him in.” Makarov takes a deep breath in, preparing himself for their reaction, choosing his next words carefully, “Or you keep him permanently, the choice is up to you.”

“Wait! Is that it? But Natsu and I aren’t together like that, and even if we were… How would it work? Which house would he live in-?” Stopping abruptly, she’s almost yelling at this point. Trying to calm her frantic heart from beating out of her chest, praying she hasn’t disturbed the baby in her frenzy. She takes a few deep breaths, closing her eyes as she tries to think through what she’s just been told.

“Woah Lucy, you don’t need to overthink this. I know it’s scary, it’s a big decision to make, I get it. But whatever we both decide, we’ll do it in the best interest of this little guy, because that’s what matters.” Natsu speaks calmly, trying to be strong for all of them. He watches as Lucy takes in what he says and visibly relaxes, sighing as she locks eyes with him.

“I know, I’m really sorry for my outburst, I didn’t mean to overreact, it’s all just a bit overwhelming. We’re a team, we can handle this as long as you’re by my side Natsu.” She smiles genuinely at him, knowing now that it didn’t matter what sort of relationship they had, or where they would live, they were all menial compared to the bond they shared. Natsu perks up at her words and smiles at her as she puts her hand on his shoulder, wanting to show her sincerity, before both return to look at Makarov again.

“I think there really is only one option where this child will have what you both want for him.” He eyes both Natsu and Lucy, making sure they’re listening closely to what he has to say next.

“You would become his mother and father, taking full responsibility for him and that’s not an easy task, especially in your situation. You would have to adapt quicker than most new parents and there would be a lot change. But you wouldn’t have to do it alone, you’d have the support of this entire guild. Bare that in mind children when you make, what’ll be one of the biggest decisions of your lives. Porlyusica and I will leave you both to discuss this, I’ll go and tell everyone else what’s going on, or they’re going to start asking questions.” Makarov smiles at them, confident they’ll make the right decision, before walking over to the door and leaving with Porlyusica in-tow.

The room becomes deadly silent for a few long moments, giving them time to think. Lucy moves to sit opposite Natsu and finds herself staring at the baby in his arms, he really was good with children. But then she shouldn’t be surprised, he’d proven that time and time again. He’d raised Happy from just an egg, and the little Exceed had turned out fine, no matter how bothersome he was sometimes. Then there was Kemo Kemo, he loved and nurtured that weird little thing, he didn’t have to but he chose to. It was a shame about what happened to him though, but that wasn’t Natsu’s fault. He would volunteer to babysit Asuka for Alzack and Bisca, he enjoyed spending time with her, even if he liked to pretend otherwise. He was great with Romeo, always asking after him and he treated Wendy like a little sister. Then when Levy and Gajeel had the twins, he was one of the first one’s to get in there and hold them. Lucy remembered that day well, he had looked so content with little Yaje in his arms.

So, when it came down to finding suitable parents, Natsu really was the perfect choice, he was totally capable and selfless. There was nothing to make her think Natsu wouldn’t give it his all and be the best damn father he could be for the tiny baby, Lucy was sure of that. What was stopping her from taking the plunge into motherhood was just that, being a mother. Not because she didn’t want to, it was clear to her and everyone else that she wanted him, but she wasn’t like Natsu. She’d had no experience with children, she didn’t know the first thing about raising a child and that scared her. What if something went wrong? What if something happened to him in her care? She would never be able to forgive herself. She was so sure of herself in every other part of her life, but this had truly thrown her through a loop.

But then she also knew what she wanted for the little one, she wanted him to be happy, to have a good upbringing and to have a loving family that would provide and care for him. She wanted him to have a network of support should he need it, to make friends and maybe have siblings that he could play with as he got bigger.

She knew in her heart that there really was only one option if she wanted him to have all of that. Fairy Tail had become so important to her and she knew that the Master was right. All of their friends would support them in any decision they made, and they would gladly welcome a new addition to the family. She had made up her mind, there never really was any other choice and as long as Natsu agreed and stood by her, she knew she could do anything.

“Natsu…” She whispers, trying to figure out the right words to say. He looks away from the child who he had been pulling silly faces at and smiles at her knowingly. He had wanted to give her time to process everything before they began to discuss anything. He knew that she was unsure of herself and needed time to go over it in her head. He had made up his mind ages ago, he just needed Lucy to be on side. “Have you had time to think about what you’d like to do Natsu?” she asks, wanting to reassure herself.

“I think you know my answer already Lucy. But it’s not just my choice, I want us to be in this together, like always.” Natsu replies simply, giving her the encouragement she needed, but trying not to give too much of his emotions away in case she decided against it, which would leave him heartbroken. He eyes her, suddenly anxious to hear what she has to say.

“Then there’s nothing else to discuss. I want to keep the baby. I couldn’t bare to leave him with someone else, knowing they might not give him what he deserves, and we’d never be able to see him again. Just the thought of it makes me feel sick!” Tears stream down her face as she looks at the baby and then back to Natsu, desperately trying to keep her voice in check, but failing, “He deserves a chance at a happy life and we can give him that. The first few days of his existence were filled with pain and he had been left for dead by his own blood. He deserves to be wanted and I want him more than anything Natsu! I want him so badly it’s making my heart hurt.” The flood gates open as she finally relieves herself of all her pent up feelings she’d been trying to bury. Unable to control her sobbing, she puts her hands over her face and cries into them.

He can barely believe his ears, she wanted to keep the baby and for them to be a family. His excitement bubbled beneath his skin and he couldn’t contain just how ecstatic he was now that he was going to be a father. Words failing him and being a man of action anyway, he laid the baby down on the bed, putting cushions around him so he couldn’t fall and flew over to Lucy, embracing her tightly, knocking her back so she was laying down with Natsu on top of her. She giggled at his sudden reaction and held onto him close. She relished in his warmth, her earlier sadness disappearing and being replaced by sheer joy at being able to give the baby a life filled with love and happiness.

Natsu pulled back slightly, his forehead resting on hers, their breath mingling together. Natsu’s gaze locked on her own and said the only thing he could, “Thank you Lucy!” he whispered softly against her skin, giving her goosebumps. Her words got caught as she stared at the intense look in his eyes, his beautiful green eyes that seemed to show his emotions even when he was unable to speak them.

They seemed lost in each other for a moment, before they heard squirming coming from the bed behind Natsu and that’s when they smelt it, the offensive smell of a baby pooping and as gross as it was, they found themselves chuckling and smiling at it. Natsu flicks his nose up against Lucy’s making her gasp, “It’s your turn.” He murmurs with a smirk, as he stands up and gently hands the baby to a flustered Lucy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again. Thanks to everyone that showed interest in me continuing this story. I hope you enjoy reading!


	3. Meet The Guild

Chapter 3

Natsu just couldn't look away from the breathtaking sight in front of him. He had spent probably the best part of the last half hour just staring at the gorgeous girl in front of him playing with the new tiny addition. She had been cooing and laughing at all the little noises he was making, she seemed so infatuated with him. It was so strange to think that only a few days ago, he had never really thought about having a family of his own, it's just something he always assumed would happen later on in life. But what he did know was that if he ever did want a family, Lucy would’ve been a part of it. He couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else, he wouldn't want to either. Even if they weren't together in that way right now, he could only hope that one day they might be, that maybe this would bring them even closer, if that were possible.

He hadn't realised before just how good she looked with a baby in her arms, but then again, he'd never seen her in this way, and now he didn’t want to go a day without her being like this. He noticed just how bright her eyes would shine and her brilliant smile that never faltered, every time the young infant would kick his legs or flail his arms in response to what she was doing. 

They had made the right decision, everything Lucy had said before was true. Natsu had bonded with the little guy in such a short time, there was no way that he could’ve ever given him to someone else, that they didn’t know, and trusted them to do a job that he and Lucy were more than capable of doing. He understood how cruel people could be, he'd come across enough of them in his life time, especially in this line of work. He would make sure that the child would be safe and loved, so long as he remained with them. He knew they had a lot to sort through until everything became official, and he wasn’t so stupid to think it was going to be easy. However, in this moment, watching Lucy be so tender and loving towards the little boy, it filled his heart with feelings he’d never felt before and couldn't wait to see what the future would bring.

"You're not usually this quiet Natsu, is something the matter?" Lucy asked, glancing briefly at the dragon slayer before returning her attention back to the baby. She had noticed him watching her, he had this glint in his eye that gave her butterflies.

"Nah Luce, nothings wrong. Everything’s good actually!" He smirked at her. It was true, everything was good, it was great in fact! But it struck him abruptly that something seemed to be missing, and he just couldn't put his finger on it. His brows were furrowed and arms crossed over his chest, trying to muddle through his brain over what the hell it was that seemed to be amiss.

"That face you got there is telling me otherwise. Are you trying to think Natsu?" Lucy teased and poked her tongue out at him. 

Not taking any notice, he was lost in his thoughts. She eyed him closely, finding it strange when he didn’t bite at her comment, watching for the subtle changes in his strained expression. He seemed to be struggling with something, but what? He had just said everything was good, so why did he look so conflicted? Her thoughts unexpectedly took a dark twist and hit her straight in the gut. Panic bubbled in her chest and she felt her lungs constrict, unable to breathe. 

"You haven't changed your mind have you?!" Unable to keep the dread from her voice as it raised in octaves, her heart sank at the very thought. What would she do if he had changed his mind? He seemed so sure just an hour ago but what if he was rethinking his decision. Where would that leave her and the baby? What if he no longer wanted to do this with her? Tears started to pool again in her eyes, threatening to spill, and she'd only just gotten rid of the last ones. 

Natsu eyes opened like saucers, her words snapping him out of his stupor. His face becoming one of concern, where did that come from? He could tell just by looking at her frantic expression the direction in which her thoughts were going and he didn't like it.

"N-No wait Lucy! Don't cry please! Of course I haven't changed my mind, I would never do that!" He stuttered, totally taken aback by her sudden outburst. Emotions were running high today, but then he could understand it, Lucy tended to wear her heart on her sleeve. 

He moved to sit next to her on the bed to reassure her, gazing straight in to her glassy brown eyes, “Lucy, I said we were in this together and I meant it. I never go back on my word, so please don’t think things like that.” He said as he wiped the few tears that managed to escape from her blotchy cheeks. She could kick herself. Of course Natsu hadn’t changed his mind, he’d promised her and he never broke his promises. She leant her head against his shoulder, exhausted by all her turbulent feelings, his warmth bringing her comfort as he wrapped an arm around her.

They were still in the infirmary, waiting for the Master to be done telling everyone the situation before they introduced the new addition to the guild. A light seemed to suddenly switch on in Natsu's head, finally realising what was missing.

"A name!" He blurted out unexpectedly, louder than he was meant to, making Lucy and the baby jump. He looked at her apologetically as she turned to stare at him in confusion, "Luce, he doesn't have a name. I thought something didn’t seem right!" He exclaimed, punching his fist into his other hand, pleased with himself for pointing out the obvious.

"Oh yeah!” Realisation hitting her, “But what do we call him? It needs to be something good, he's going to be stuck with it for the rest of his life." Lucy chuckled, thinking of all the crazy names Natsu was bound to suggest. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, staring intently at the baby as they tried to come up with something, anything… 

"Man, this is hard! It was easy naming Happy, it just suited him straight away. But naming a baby is a lot tougher, how do people do it?" Natsu wondered, feeling a little deflated about not coming up with a decent name. In fact, he hadn't thought of any, it seemed all the names he knew of had been taken by other people and he wanted this little boy to have the best name ever! If only he could think of one.

"People don't usually have babies sprung upon them Natsu. Most parents have nine months to think of a name before the baby is even born, some even longer than that if it's been planned. But we don't have nine months, we kinda skipped that part." Lucy replied, blushing at the implication of her words. Luckily Natsu hadn’t picked up on it, or at least he’d kept it to himself if he had. She felt utterly overwhelmed by naming a child, this was something she'd never had to do before. He needed a strong, unique name that would become part of his identity, she never realised how daunting naming someone could be. 

"Maybe the other's could help? They might come up with some good names." She suggested, regretting it instantly, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. 

"I imagine that they'll be barging in here as soon as Gramps is done. There'll want to meet him and bombard us with a crap ton of questions." Natsu remarked, rolling his eyes at the jokes they were sure to make at his expense. Not that he really minded, he was itching to get rid of some pent up energy and a good brawl always helped with that.

And just like that, there was a knock at the door, as the rest of their team with the addition of Levy, had come to see them. As they entered the Infirmary, their eyes instantly locked on to the tiny little baby in Lucy's arms as they all quietly came over to get a closer look.

"Oh my goodness Lu, he is just the cutest!" Levy squealed with hearts in her eyes, as she stroked the little one's cheek. The other's, not wanting to disturb the baby too much, sat around the two new parents, making themselves comfortable.

"You know you're not supposed to steal other people's kids, Flame Brain!" Gray mocked, with the biggest smile on his face, giving away how glad he was to see that his team mates were doing just fine. Natsu locked eyes with him, raising an eyebrow, pretending to be offended, but he couldn't help but smile back at the raven haired mage.

"Shut it Popsicle, or I'll go tell Juvia you want one!" Natsu threatened, taking absolute pleasure in watching the colour drain from the Ice mages face.

"Master told everyone what had happened on your mission. It's so sad to hear that people can just abandon their own children like that, but he's a lucky little boy for having you two save him." Wendy said from the other bed, dampened by the idea that anyone could be so cruel.

"That's why I'm glad that Natsu and I found him when we did. He’s so innocent and vulnerable, it’s frightening just thinking about it all." Lucy uttered, as she stared at the little one. Not prepared to think any more into it, she didn't want to start crying again. She had to keep reminding herself that regardless of what could of happened, it didn’t. He was there, safely tucked into her arms, sleeping soundly. He was safe.

"It appears you seem to have everything under control there, Lucy. He seems very content in your arms, what a precious little thing." Erza spoke up, trying to be encouraging towards the now sombre celestial mage. Her face was slightly flushed as she stared at the baby, she really did have a soft spot for cute things.

"I still think he looks kinda like a fish, I bet he would taste yummy, right Natsu?!" Happy said, trying to reach over and get a good look of the baby's face. Waiting for the dragon slayer to reply.

"I don't think so Happy. But instead of eating him, we've got something better to offer." Natsu's face lit up. He patted the little Exceed on the head, hoping that he wasn't going to be too upset about making this choice without him.

Natsu looked over to Lucy who smiled at him, knowing what he was about to tell everyone. Her heart started to beat a little faster as they were about to make it official, at least to their closest friends. There would be no going back after this, and she couldn't be any happier about it all. Their friends looked at Natsu, curious to know what he was about to say. He took the baby from Lucy's arms and unwrapped him slightly, so everyone could get a better look at his cute little face.

"I'd like you all to officially meet our son, say hi to your new baby brother Happy!" Natsu gave the biggest face splitting grin towards the Exceed. And all at once, there were cheers and smiles all over. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement over the news.

"I have a little brother now? That's so cool! I'm going to be the best big brother ever! I'm gonna teach him so many things, especially how to annoy Lucy!" He grinned mischievously towards the blonde, with Natsu chuckling beside him, feeling relieved that he had taken it so well. At the sound of her name, Lucy turned and scowled at the Exceed about to make a sarcastic retort, before being enveloped by a squealing body.

"Welcome to Motherhood Lucy! It's going to be the best thing you ever do, I promise!" Levy hugged Lucy tightly as she congratulated them both. She couldn't wait to get stuck in and help them out, and her twins were going to have a little friend to play with.

"Wow! I'm so happy for you both, you're going to make great parents!" Wendy said, smiling sweetly at the startled baby.

"I'm glad to hear it. I think you've both made the right decision. Your son is going to be adored by everyone, they're all going to be thrilled by the news. He's a very lucky little boy!" Erza leant over and put her hand on Natsu's shoulder, she smiled at him, admiration clear in her eyes.

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself in to Lucy. Soon you'll be dealing with two hot heads, there's no way that kid has a chance with Natsu as his father." Gray said in jest, Lucy giggled at his words though and looked to Natsu, who was just about ready to beat Gray into the ground.

"Hey Luce, you're supposed to be on my side!" Natsu whined before snapping his head to Gray, pointing accusingly, "And you're just jealous that I got there before you!" Gray just laughed, he was truly happy for his friends.

Lucy felt those familiar butterflies in her stomach as she watched the two of them squabble over who's kid would be better. She knew Gray was joking, but knowing that this child was going to grow up with a father like Natsu, filled her heart to the brim of exploding. She'd never felt anything like it before. She wanted Natsu to know that if the little boy did end up as fiery as him, then she would be more than fine with that.

"I wouldn't want it any other way." She whispered, knowing that he would hear her as she looked up at him through her lashes. His head snapped towards her, it sent shivers down his spine with the way she was looking at him. What the hell was she trying to do to him? In front of their friends of all places! He stared at her, a half smile forming on his lips and a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Are you both ready to go and introduce the little one to the guild? Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't all burst in here yet." Levy asked as she moved to stand, a hopeful look in her eyes. The rest of them followed, taking it as their cue to leave and head out. Natsu adjusted the baby in his arms, the little one seemed to be enjoying kicking his legs out the end of the scarf he was partially wrapped in. He looked back to Lucy, who had grabbed their things, and gave her his trademark grin, before holding her hand and walking out of the room and up the stairs.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Makarov was standing there. He was smiling at them through gritted teeth, sweat rolling down his face, looking like he was trying to hold back a mob with his enlarged hands. Allowing them time to sit at a table so that they could get comfortable, before the hoard swallowed them whole.

"So kids, have you decided?" He asked as he walked closer to them, straining as the guild pushed against him.

"Yes Master, we have." Lucy then looked to everyone behind him, directing her attention to the rest of the guild, "I'd like you all to meet the newest member of the Fairy Tail family." Lucy beamed, pride spilling out as she introduced the baby to all of their friends.

And that's when things went crazy, everyone swarmed them in an instant. It felt like there was an electricity in the air from the amount of smiles, laughs and cheers, compliments and jokes flying everywhere. Lucy, for a moment allowed herself to be consumed by the energy of her friends, solidifying everything she knew and had come to love. She adored her guild, her friends, her team, they meant so much to her, but there would always be one person that held a special place in her heart. The man that had made this all possible. Natsu was the one that had not only given her everything she'd ever needed by bringing her to Fairy Tail, but he was now giving her a family of her own, one she never knew she wanted until now.

She watched as everyone congratulated them, and gave them their best wishes. The baby found his way into the arms of nearly every guild member that was desperate to hold him and fuss over what a cutie he was. Lucy found it so endearing that Natsu refused to take his eyes off the little one until he returned to his safe haven, which apparently was Lucy's chest. The crowd slowly got smaller as the day went on, wanting not to intrude on the new family too much.

She breathed a sigh of relief, now that it was just her and Natsu at the table again. Thank god it was all over, it was finally out in the open now and she was overjoyed by the kindness of her friends. But now came another obstacle, where do they go from here? Where would they live? Totally unprepared for a newborn baby, all they had for him was what had been given to them on the mission. She didn't even know what babies needed, now that the initial excitement was wearing off, the reality of it all was starting to work it's way into her brain.

Natsu had been keeping his eye on her, knowing that regardless of how pleased she was by their friends being so supportive, he could see she was tired. They hadn't had any proper rest since returning from the mission, and now with the baby to look after, he imagined sleep was going to be a bit harder to come by.

"Do you wanna head out Luce? You look exhausted." He asked, worried that she was going to fall asleep where she sat, as she rocked the little one back and forth, kissing his head tenderly.

"I'm fine Natsu, I was just thinking about stuff that's all." she said quietly, trying not to rouse the sleeping baby, who she had only just managed to get back to sleep after all the excitement.

He knew that look, that was the expression she made when she was trying to figure things out, to come up with a plan. Her hand was splayed out on the table in front of her as she leaned back on the bench, she smiled briefly before going back to her thoughts. Natsu knew something was bothering her and with a stroke of her hand, she sighed.

"I was just thinking about how unprepared we are. Where are we even going to go? My apartment or your house? Where's he going to sleep? He's run out of clean clothes now and down to the last drop of milk. I don't even know what babies need, what are the essential items for a newborn? I'm completely out of my depth here." She stopped to take in some much needed air before she pressed on, "Plus there are loads of other things we really need to discuss and they can't wait for too long, we need to prepare ourselves, we need a plan." she stopped, wanting to continue further but just not having the energy to do so, all she wanted to do right now was go home, have a bath and relax.

Natsu looked sheepishly at her, like he was up to something. It was probably some stupid prank him and Happy had thought up, "Come on Lucy, let's all head back to your place. Some fresh air might do you good." And with that, Natsu, Lucy, Happy and the baby said their good nights and left.

It had started to get dark and the air had a chill to it. Natsu had decided to take the baby from Lucy so that he could keep the little one warm as they made their way to Lucy's apartment. It had been a long couple of days that seemed to blur into one. They walked most of the way in silence, too tired to make conversation. Lucy was worried though, what she had said was a concern, there was just so much that needed to be done.

They reached the little apartment building and went inside. As Lucy walked into her main room, just about ready to collapse on the couch, she was stunned into silence.  
"What's all this?" She asked, looking at all the bags and boxes laying on her floor. Had someone broken into her house? But don’t burglars usually steal things? Natsu walked up behind her, that sheepish smile back on his face. She turned to him and studied him closely, not liking the way he was looking at her, "What have you done Natsu? Why is all this in my house?"

"It's baby stuff." He said simply, like that was enough of an explanation. He walked over and placed the baby on the bed and sat down next to him, with a big shit eating grin on his face. He noticed after a few moments that she hadn't said anything, she was staring at him, brows furrowed and mouth agape. He sighed, he was going to have to spell it out for her, "Luce, it's all for the baby. Why don't you stop being weird and come take a look." He teased, enjoying her dumbstruck expression, hoping she understood now.

Happy was the first to jump in, wanting to show her what the bags and boxes contained. Lucy still unsure, walked over and sat on her couch, bringing one of the smaller bags up onto her lap that Happy had passed to her. Peering inside she took a quick inhale, pulling out the cutest little baby clothes. In awe, she dug deeper, finding more clothes along with blankets, hats, mittens and shoes. She looked through the other bags which held all sorts of sweet little baby things. Then she moved onto the boxes. Her and Happy made quick work of emptying the contents of every bag and box so that it was all laid out in front of them. There was a small crib, a changer, baby books, bottles and diapers, baby powder and medicine, and so much else, it filled her small apartment. She couldn't believe how much stuff there was, she looked up to Natsu, who had remained quiet with that same smile on his face. She knew that this was his doing somehow, who else could it have been?

"Where…? How did you…?" She couldn't get the words out, astonished by just how he’d managed to do this, and yet having absolutely no idea where it had all come from. Natsu simply shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal.

"I wanted to surprise you. I thought this would make everything easier for us." remaining nonchalant, he continued, "I can't take all the credit, it was Levy and Metal Head’s idea. They had loads of baby stuff that they no longer needed and offered it to us. So Happy went with Lily and brought it all here. Although, I didn't realise it was gonna take over the place." He chuckled, eyes remaining locked with Lucy's as she took in what he's saying.

She stood abruptly, stumbling slightly in her haste as she tried not to tread on any of the things they had been kindly given and made her way over to Natsu. Without a single word, she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him in to her, firmly wedged between her breasts. She didn't care though, she was speechless. He had yet again shown how capable he was and she couldn't hide the happiness she felt. This was going to make things so much easier, it was one less thing to worry about. She sighed in contentment whilst Natsu held her close, relishing in her scent for as long as he could.

"Thank you so much Natsu! This is amazing!" She smiled sweetly down at him, trying to convey just how thankful she was. He snuggled further into her embrace, smiling mischievously at what he was about so say, he did enjoy winding her up and catching her off guard, he couldn’t help himself.

"Now, I can see why the little guy likes this spot so much!" He smirked against her skin, bracing himself for the inevitable 'Lucy kick'. But to his surprise it never comes. She squeaked in embarrassment and pulled away quickly, watching as Natsu and Happy snickered and high-fived each other.

"I need a bath, I stink and I still have ash in my hair and I think the little man needs one too." She picked up the baby who stirred slightly then made her way to the bathroom. She looked back to Natsu who had attempted to start clearing some of the baby stuff away with Happy. "Er, Natsu? Do you think you could give me a hand, please?" Feeling a little blush creep onto her cheeks.

"Sure Luce, I'll be back in a while Happy." He stood up, patting the cat on the head before following Lucy into the bathroom. "What do you want me to do?" He asked as she handed him a very awake, wriggling baby.

"Well, I thought that maybe for his first bath, it would be better if he got in with me. And I kinda felt nervous about doing it on my own." she blushed, not meeting the dragon slayers eyes.

She turned to the bath tub to run the hot water and unashamedly started to take off her clothes. Natsu just stood there, ogling at her, trying his hardest to look away but failing miserably.

"Hey! No peeking! I asked you in here to help me, not be a pervert!" she raised her voice a little, "Be useful and start undressing the baby."

"Aye!" Natsu yelped, snapping out of his haze and began busying himself with the little one.

Laid on the dresser, Natsu leant over and started to gently take his clothes off. He took his time, wanting to get a good look at him. Frowning, he realised that the little one did look thin, just like Porlyusica had said, he was so small and fragile looking, he never remembered the twins being this tiny. Natsu could hold him in just one hand, and he weighed next to nothing. But he was feeding well, in fact he didn't stop, it seemed like he was constantly hungry. Natsu chuckled to himself, this little guy was going to eat them out of house and home and it was only going to get worse as he grew bigger. Natsu had worried at first, that maybe he wasn't going to make it, but this kid had beaten the odds and he couldn't be prouder.

"Hey there little guy!" The little one cooed when Natsu spoke to him, reaching up to his face with his tiny hands. Natsu smiled at him, not entirely sure whether the boy wanted to grab his face or just stretch out his arms, but it didn't matter. Natsu let the baby touch his skin, amusing himself at the uncoordinated movements of his arms and legs. The infant worked his way up to the wild pink hair atop Natsu’s head and curled his little fingers around a few strands before yanking it hard.

"Ow! You gotta strong grip on you!" Natsu winced, surprised by the strength of the little ones pull. He carefully unwound his hair from the baby's grasp and replaced it with his finger, which the infant instantly put in his mouth and started sucking, “Hungry already huh?” The dragon slayer smirked.

Once the little one had finished his gummy attack, Natsu used his magic to warm his hands to pick him up, walking over to a fully submerged Lucy.

"What a lucky little guy you are, getting to have a bath with mama." He spoke softly towards the baby as he handed him to Lucy. She felt a blush slowly make its way up her chest and neck at Natsu’s choice of words. He had called her 'mama' he hadn't done that yet and she had to admit she liked the sound of it. The dragon slayer just smiled at her, very much aware of her reddening skin.

Lucy held the infant in the water so that his head was the only thing above the surface. Natsu knelt down beside the bath so that he could clearly see the baby, trying his best not to look at a very naked Lucy. They watched intently as the baby splashed the water with his jerky movements and made little noises. He was so sweet and so lively, he seemed to really like the warm water and his eyes would go wide every time he sprayed it on his own face.

"You are such a little cutie!" Lucy just couldn't hide her giggles, she was fascinated by this child.

"You got that right!" Natsu couldn't look away, how had he managed to become so smitten? They spent a little longer laughing and smiling at the little one. Before Natsu broke the silence.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" His eyes trained on her face. Not wanting to push it by ogling elsewhere.

"Oh, I was just really tired earlier and allowed things to get on top of me. There's still so much we need to do, and it's a little mind-boggling." Lucy remembered as she looks to Natsu, a slight blush on her face as his eyes bore into her own.

"I know Luce, but we'll take it just one step at a time, we don't have to rush do we?" He said trying to comfort her. His fingers idly playing in the water, keeping it warm whilst they spoke. Lucy nodded at him and returned her focus to the sweet baby in front of her. 

Lucy reached over, using her hand, she cupped the water and poured it gently over his head to wash out the bits of gunk still in his hair. She noticed as the remaining dirt came off of his skin, that he had a few red marks around his head under his thin coat of hair, she frowned. Where did they come from? She hadn't noticed them before.

"Look at you, acting all cool with your battle scars!" Natsu chuckled at the baby, gauging Lucy from the corner of his eye. Lucy instantly felt her worries fade. Natsu was right, those little marks were proof of what a strong boy he was.

"Have you thought any more about names, Natsu?"

"Luigi!" He cheered, then laughed out loud as her face turned into one of disgust, "Luce, I'm joking! I wouldn't call him that!" Waving his hands dismissively at the unamused blonde. 

"Well, I like the name Haru, it means Spring or born in Spring and I thought it was fitting because we found him in the Spring." She felt a little embarrassed but she persisted, "Your name is a season too, it means Summer right? It works perfectly! I-I also like the way it sounds with, er, your last name..." She drifted off at the end, bothered by the crazy butterflies in her stomach. She chanced a glance at his face to see if he’d heard her, before jolting her head away trying to hide her blush. 

She felt so flustered, she knew that the child didn't actually have to take the fathers name but she wanted him to. It was old fashioned, sure, and no, they weren’t married but it meant a lot to her, and she thought that Natsu would appreciate the sentiment.

Natsu was shocked, when she said about naming him, he had only thought of the first name, not the last name as well, that hadn't even crossed his mind. He reached his hand across to her cheek, clutching it softly. Swiftly bringing her face back to look at him, he smiled at her whilst she remained nervous and very flushed. His face only mere inches away from hers, he spoke.

"You mean it, Lucy?" He studied her face intently, brows furrowed, “We don’t have t-”

She brought her forehead to his, stopping him mid sentence, and rested it there, smiling back at him. Trying to portray her utmost sincerity.

"Yes, Natsu. I mean it. I want him to take your last name, you're now his daddy." She whispered, her breath mingling with his. His heart clenched and threatened to beat right out of his chest with every word that came out of her mouth. 

"Then Lucy, Haru Dragneel it is!" He whispered back to her, feeling a blush dusting his own face as he stared into her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, totally entranced by them.  
Had she always been this pretty? He dipped his eyes down to her lips, her plump, pink lips, what he wouldn't give just to touch them, taste them with his own. Lucy felt herself being drawn in by Natsu's gaze, she needed to pull away so she could get herself and the baby out of the bath, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, he was hypnotising. They slowly moved their faces closer, in perfect synchronicity, lips about to touch, when there was a knock on the door.

Jumping out of their skin, they both immediately separate, blushes both prevalent on their faces, as Happy casually flew in and perched down on the edge of the bath tub, totally unaware of what was just about to go down.

"You guys have been in here for ages! I'm bored waiting for you all, and he now looks all shrivelled!" Happy whined whilst pointing at the baby.

"We're sorry buddy, we were just... talking about names for the baby." Natsu stammered, still trying to hide his pink cheeks from the oblivious Exceed. "But we finally managed to come up with one. His name is Haru Dragneel, what do ya think?" Natsu grinned at the cat.

"Haru as in Spring? It's like your name Natsu! I like it!" Happy exclaimed, looking back at the child, saying the name again and again to see if it suited him.

"Well, now that's settled and another thing ticked off the list..." Lucy looks at the baby directly, "Haru, you can go with daddy, while mama gets herself ready for bed" She lifted the slippery baby up, kissing his forehead before handing him back to Natsu. He wrapped Haru in a towel and held him close, walking out of the bathroom to go get him ready.

By the time Lucy had finished in the bathroom, she made her way into the main room of her apartment, stopping as she closed the door. The picture in front of her was one that made her heart soar, it was so precious. There was Natsu sprawled out on the bed snoring lightly with Haru sleeping peacefully on his chest and Happy snuggled up against his head. She sighed in contentment, they all looked so peaceful, it was hard to believe that the rambunctious dragon slayer could look so innocent whilst asleep, same goes for that pesky blue feline too, and then there was little Haru and what a sweetheart he was awake or asleep. 

She walked over her still cluttered room and ever so gently picked Haru up to place him in his crib. She quietly got into bed beside Natsu, trying not to disturb them. It didn’t bother her like it use to that he would sleep next to her, it was such a regular occurrence now, she just got use to his presence. And now she found it hard to sleep without his warmth, he made her feel safe and his scent was comforting. 

She rolled over to face the sleeping fire breather, relishing in his warmth as he sleepily enveloped her with his arms, mumbling something in his sleep. 

“Good night boys!” Lucy whispered, smiling into the slayer’s solid chest, as she slowly drifted off into a well deserved slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again, this chapter turned out to be quite long, but I thought it was cute and necessary to Natsu and Lucy's development. The baby finally has a name! Please don't hate on it, I thought it was sweet! I hope you enjoyed reading chapter 3, chapter 4 will be coming soon! Thanks for all your support!


	4. Hear Him Cry

Chapter 4

Lucy groggily opened her eyes at the unwelcome sunlight shining through the window and onto her grimacing face. She had woken abruptly, feeling an emptiness on the mattress beside her. Actively seeking out the warmth that accompanied the dragon slayer, she turned over to cuddle closer and noticed he was no longer there. About to call out his name, she stopped in her tracks as soon as she caught sight of him. Natsu was perched on her couch, pink hair wild as ever, smiling and talking to the little baby in his arms. She could hear little Haru coo every time Natsu would smile or say something silly. It was so cute to watch them, he had done this every morning since they’d brought him back with them, it had become part of her day to wake up early and get a front row seat to Natsu bonding with his son.

Haru had been with them nearly a week now, and it was scary how quickly they'd had to adapt. He was such a sweetie, even when he was upset. Natsu had been so attentive and protective of the little one, he never took his eyes off of him, especially when they were out or at the guild. It was reassuring to have someone around like that who seemed so natural at this.

Lucy still struggled with the tremendous amount of uncertainty she had when it came to her parenting abilities, she would question every decision she made for the boy. And yet, Natsu never seemed to doubt himself. She knew that when she agreed to take him in that she would be taking joint responsibility with Natsu, but she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe she wasn't very natural at this. Those original doubts were still there too, she really didn't know what she was doing. There were no amount of parenting books or advise from her parent friends that she could use to educate herself in being a good mother. She was kinda jealous, in a way, of Natsu's innate ability to just be a dad, no questions asked. But, hell, did it suit him!

Lucy loved watching him be so fatherly, it was so sweet and made him all the more attractive. She had always found him good-looking though, any one with eyes could see that he was handsome. He had this alluring ripped body which she would discreetly ogle, loving the way he flexed his muscles when he moved. His crazy, pink hair seemed to have a mind of it's own and yet it perfectly framed his face. His skin was darker than hers, it was more tanned which complimented his beautiful green eyes, the same green eyes she would so often get lost in. They told her every emotion he was feeling even when he couldn't express it. He was like an open book, but only to those closest to him. Every smirk and stupid grin told a different story, adding another chapter to the endless mystery that was Natsu Dragneel.

She sighed in contentment, as she continued to watch the fire breather play with the little fella, thinking back to the other night when she had bathed Haru for the first time. She remembered the way Natsu had looked at her, was he about to kiss her? Damn that cat for ruining the moment! She thought about how she'd felt as he slowly moved his face towards her, they were so close, a few more seconds and maybe-

"I know you're not sleeping." She heard his gruff voice say from across the room, snapping her out of her haze. Busted! He hadn't even looked in her direction, how the hell did he know? She quickly bolted upright, pretending to have just woken up, doing a fake, over the top yawn and began rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Stop being a pervert and come join us!" He blurted, glancing over to her briefly to gauge her dumbstruck expression before returning his attention to Haru. Smiling to himself, "Your mama's being weird again!" He whispered to the baby, snickering when he responded by flailing his arms, "See Luce, even Haru agrees." He looked over to her and laughed when he saw her puffed out cheeks.

She scowled at the dragon slayer before heading over to give Haru a kiss on the head to say good morning. Glancing up at Natsu, still pretending to be annoyed, she flicked his forehead playfully, gaining a pretend gasp from him, before entering her bathroom to get showered and ready for the day. Natsu couldn't help but laugh out loud, she was so easy to wind up, it was one of his favourite things to do.

When Lucy walked out of the bathroom, Natsu looked up, about to tell her something when his words got trapped in his mouth, she looked stunning. He watched as her heavenly blonde hair cascaded down her back, he liked it when she let it down, it had grown so long. Her smooth, milky skin looked almost edible and the way her clothes seemed to hug her curves, made him drool. There wasn't any particular difference in the way she looked, yet, he was mesmerised. He couldn't look away, in his eyes she was just so beautiful.  
"Natsu and I cooked you some breakfast Lucy, it's super yummy!" The little Exceed exclaimed with a mouth full of food. Knocking Natsu right out of his trance, he quickly looked away, attempting to hide his pink cheeks. Oblivious to his inner turmoil, she walked over and sat down, helping herself to some of the food on the table.

"Porlyusica said she wanted to do a full check up on Haru today at the guild hall." She said out loud, directing her gaze towards the dragon slayer who had just finished stuffing his face.

"I'll be there! There's just a few things I need to do before hand. But it shouldn't take too long." Natsu said cheerily, "Actually, I better get going. Are you going to be alright for a bit Luce, I'll be as quick as I can?" He asked, saying a quick goodbye to Haru and placing him in his crib, before making his way over to the window.

She nodded, unable to speak from all the food in her mouth. He grinned at her as he jumped out of the window and started running down the street. Lucy did wonder where he was going everyday, it had become quite a regular thing for him to just up and leave the past week, never telling her where he was off to. She had to admit she was curious, but he always returned and she had Happy to help her until he got back.

Once she had finished cleaning the awful mess that'd been left in her kitchen, Lucy, Happy and Haru made their way to the Guild hall. It was such a warm, sunny day as she walked along the canal, Lucy contemplated taking Haru for a walk in the park later. Her mind habitually drifted back to Natsu, focusing mostly on his absence. Should she have asked him where he was going? She did want to know where he kept running off to, but at the same time, she knew that he would tell her eventually. She sighed, as much as she loved Haru, being alone with him made her feel a little uncomfortable. And yes, she had Happy there to help, he was great with the baby, but Natsu seemed to just have this way of calming him when he cried, a way that Lucy hadn't mastered yet.

She couldn't help but panic when he started to wail, anxiety would course through her when he refused his milk. She felt a sense of helplessness, what was she doing wrong? Was there something wrong with him that she was missing? She didn't know, but each time he would cry for apparently no reason, Natsu had been there to soothe him. The more she thought about it, the more her good mood was fading. She couldn't help it, she wanted to be a good mother to Haru, he deserved it, but at the moment it felt like she was failing him. Natsu had tried to be encouraging when she told him about her worries, he was so supportive, but there was always this crushing doubt in the back of her mind that just wouldn't go away.

Before she knew it she was standing outside the Fairy Tail guild hall. She opened the door and walked in, greeting her friends as she sat down at the bar with Haru. Happy had flown off to go see Carla, that cat was hopeless. She chuckled to herself before starting a conversation with the girls that were so eager to hold the baby.

"Juvia wishes to have a baby. But her darling Gray won't give her one." The water mage said solemnly, looking a little defeated. Lucy kind of felt sorry for her, having a baby was a big thing as she had quickly found out, not that she regretted it but maybe Gray had the right idea for now, it wasn’t something to take lightly.

"I'm sure you'll have a family one day Juvia, you just have to be patient." Lucy said, trying to console her friend, "Gray will come around to the idea, I'm sure."

"Haru is so cute! I think you and Natsu should have more sweet babies, Haru will need siblings eventually." Mira said, gushing over the baby, whilst imagining more Natsu and Lucy babies.

"Siblings? Mira! Natsu and I aren't together in that way, how could we give him siblings?" Lucy turned the colour of a tomato, what was Mira trying to suggest? Surely they all knew that their situation was a little different to other parents.

"You say that, yet you chose to adopt a child together, you practically live with one another, you're inseparable and don't make out you don't see him that way, I've seen you staring at his fire dragon!" Cana blurted, whilst swigging from her barrel of beer, "There's just so much sexual tension between you two, it's suffocating!" She finished, wagging her eyebrows up and down, enjoying every second of teasing the young blonde. Lucy’s eyes were like saucers as she glared at Cana, wanting to give the brunette a piece of her mind when someone else decided to chip in.

"Open your eyes Lucy, you wouldn't have taken in a child with someone like Elfman or Laxus, right?" Lisanna asked, raising her eyebrow at the celestial mage.

"W-Well… I…er-" Lucy felt so flustered, she didn't know what to say, was this pick on Lucy day?

The worst part of it all was that they had a point. She wouldn't have done it with any one else, and yes, she did only have eyes for Natsu, how could she not? It wasn't a recent development, it was something that she had buried for a very long time. Taking in Haru had only made her attraction for the dragon slayer worse, so much worse in fact. But there was one problem with all of this, one detail they were failing to point out and that was, Natsu. She had told them time and time again, he simply had no interest in romance, if he did then surely he would have done something about it by now? She took a deep breath, trying to calm her rattling nerves.

"Guys, Natsu doesn't see me like that, he's just not interested." She said feeling sad about the whole situation, couldn't they see how much it affected her to know that? To truly like someone that didn’t like you back was heartbreaking. She thought back to the almost kiss the other day, that was the only time Natsu had ever looked like he was about to do something, but they had been interrupted so now she would never know.

"Lucy, I've known Natsu since we were children, believe me, he shows plenty of interest in you, he's totally smitten." Mira looked over at the blonde, from the little baby she’d been staring at, "He would never have taken in this sweet little baby if you hadn't agreed to it. Have you not noticed that you guys are all he talks about? He's so proud of his little family, and you're the one that gave him that." Mira smiled sweetly once she'd finished her speech, hoping that her words had been taken in.

Lucy sighed in defeat and smiled at the she-demon, she hoped that what Mira was saying was true, but she assumed only time would tell. If anything was going to progress between them, they'd created the perfect situation for it. They shared responsibility for the sweet baby boy currently cuddled in Lucy's arms, and that excited her for the future, a future that might involve her and Natsu being more than just best friends.

"What Mira's trying to say Lucy, is just do it already. Bend over and let him ram it home!" Cana bursts out laughing at Lucy's horrified face, sticking her tongue out and thrusting her hips suggestively. 

Much to Lucy’s chagrin, every one in the entire guild had heard what Cana had just said, she was glad Natsu wasn't present. That was until she felt his strong arms wrap around her shoulders, his breath fanning against her ear, sending spine tingling shivers through her body. Quickly spinning around to look at him, bringing Haru up to her chest from her lap. He looked so casual, surely he'd heard what Cana had just shouted out if he had been that close?

"H-Hi Natsu, I didn't hear you come in." She stuttered, trying to push down the heat rising in her face.

"I didn't want to disturb your conversation, it sounded… interesting!" He smirked at her, he had only heard what Cana had said and that was enough to know what they were talking about.

He watched as the very flushed Lucy before him started to sweat as she took in his words, he could hear the other girls sniggering in the background. But as he was about to tease her further, little Haru woke with a start and began to cry loudly. 

His smirk instantly dropped into a worried frown. He leaned in to get a closer look at Haru's little puffy face, wanting to find the cause of his distress. It was so heart wrenching when he cried, especially when he couldn't be soothed by milk or cuddles. Lucy tried for several minutes to calm the little boy down, but to no avail. She looked to Natsu, worry written across her face, who quickly took him into his arms and held him close. Warming his hands and stroking his back softly, he sat down at a bench and gently rocked back and forth. The wails slowly turned into whimpers as Natsu began to talk to him.

"That's it, good boy! There's no need for all of those tears." Natsu smiled lovingly at the little one in his arms as he continued to comfort him. Lucy couldn't help but watch, she loved to see Natsu like this. And apparently so did all the other girls, but for very different reasons.

"You seem to have a handle on this daddy business Natsu, maybe you two should have more babies." Lisanna giggled from behind the bar with Mira.

Lucy just wanted the ground to swallow her whole, why couldn't they just leave it? They just had to mention it in front of him. Natsu smiled but didn't respond, too preoccupied with Haru. He had heard the white haired mage, loud and clear. However, he wanted to save Lucy from any more embarrassment, especially with regards to their relationship.  
"Luce, when do we have to go see that old woman?" He asked, still rubbing little Haru's back as he looked up to a now fully composed Lucy, smiling at her.

"Now actually, I think she's down in the infirmary, we should get going." She said as she stood up and gathered herself.

Natsu joined her, and gave her a reassuring grin, he could see she looked a little nervous but that was natural. He laced his hand with hers and made their way down stairs. They knocked on the door and entered, happy to see Porlyusica with the addition of Wendy, Erza, Gray and of course Happy. Lucy smiled at them, they'd remembered her telling them about the check up today.

"You all remembered! Thank you, this means a lot to us." Lucy chirped graciously.

"Of course we remembered Lucy, we wanted to be here to lend our support for you both." Erza said, as she greeted little Haru.

"Yeah, I think the girls just wanted an excuse to be around the baby, I didn't get a choice in the matter." Gray rolled his eyes, trying to act as if Haru’s cuteness wasn't getting to him.

"Well, now that we have that settled, take a seat and I'll begin. Give me the child." Porlyusica barked, not remotely amused by all the people surrounding her.

She took the baby from Natsu's arms and laid him down on the table. Lucy felt her worries grow with each passing moment, her heart was beating so rapidly she was sure the two dragon slayers could hear it. The others kept offering reassuring nods and smiles as she looked at them, even Happy had come over to snuggle into her lap, but she just couldn't shake her uneasiness. 

It was a check up to see how he was doing after being caught in that fire, but why was it affecting her so much? Natsu could see her growing fear the longer the old crow kept them waiting. Natsu pulled Lucy closer to him and wrapped his arm around her back, with his hand resting on her hip, caressing it softly, while the other hand rested on top of hers, lacing their fingers together.

The baby had woken up at this point and had started to whimper, obviously not recognising the woman in front of him. His whimpers turned into cries as he urgently tried to get his parents attention. Lucy instantly tried to get up and go to him, but Porlyusica told her not to intervene and to sit back down. Natsu held her closer, he wasn’t entirely pleased himself with not being able to comfort the little one, especially as his cries became louder and more desperate.

"Don't worry Lucy, he'll be back in your arms in no time." Wendy said to try and reassure the blonde, who's face had started to sweat. Lucy didn't reply, too taken by the noise coming from her little frantic baby. She gripped Natsu's hand tighter, this is exactly what she had worried about, this and bad news, but Porlyusica hadn't said a word yet. Why was it taking so long?

"Luce, try and breathe." Natsu whispered against her ear, noticing that she was holding her breath, if she kept doing that she was going to pass out.

Little Haru had cried so much, that his entire body had gone completely red, his wails sounded pained and all Lucy wanted to do was pick him up and cuddle him. To show him that he hadn't been left alone, that mama and daddy were right here waiting for him. 

Her mind drifted back to the day that they had found him, had he cried like this then? Was he just as scared? With no one there to help him, he must have screamed until he could scream no more. It was horrifying to think of such a helpless and vulnerable little newborn baby being stuck in that mess with no one to save him.

She couldn't take it any longer, her thoughts had become erratic and the dread she felt was unbearable. She needed to reassure her baby, he needed her, he was crying so hysterically. Without warning she stood up, pulling herself away from an equally troubled Natsu and walked over to where Porlyusica was standing and grabbed the little one from the table and held him close, rubbing his back whilst she spoke to him softly, letting him know that everything was alright until he gradually calmed down. Porlyusica stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, before piping up.

"Stop being so ridiculous! I wasn't hurting him, you've interfered unnecessarily and now I'll have to do it all over again!" Porlyusica huffed in annoyance, she couldn't understand what the problem was.

"Ridiculous? How dare you! Do you have any idea how hard it was to sit there and listen to him cry like that?" Lucy was seething, how was she being ridiculous? "He's just a baby! An innocent baby who was scared and as his parent- No, as his mother I needed to comfort him!" Her voice was raised, teeming with anger.

Surely any decent parent would want to comfort their child, regardless of the situation. She looked over her shoulder, Natsu had stood up and started to make his way over to her, probably to try and console her. But the other's were just staring at her, dumbstruck. Why were they looking at her like that? She hadn't done anything wrong, all she'd wanted was to comfort Haru so that he stopped crying and then they could have continued.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" She spat at them, not caring how they’d react, she couldn't be bothered with this.

"Luce?" Was all Natsu could say as he stood behind her and tried to reach out for her hand, stopping in his tracks from the death glare she'd given him. Before he could stop her, she bolted towards the door, Haru held safely against her and stormed out of it, walking up the stairs and out of the guild hall, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to her. She needed air, that room had been suffocating and she just couldn't shake the horrible guilt she'd felt as she’d listened to the helpless cries of the little boy in her arms.

She walked to the park and sat herself under a large tree, when she had thought about going to the park today, this wasn't what she had in mind, but she wanted to be left alone right now. She was still so angry, what had gotten into her? She never usually reacted in this way, but she just couldn't help it. Watching that woman prod and pull at her little Haru and not being able to comfort him as he cried had sent her over the edge. 

She looked at the unhappy baby, who was still red and blotchy from crying, she knew what would cheer him up and took out a bottle of milk from her baby bag and fed it to him. She loved watching him feed, it was one of her favourite things. It felt like they were bonding as he looked up at her, with milk dribbling down his chin as she adoringly smiled back at him. 

She didn't want little Haru seeing her so angry, and she definitely didn’t want to further upset him. Just watching him had managed to calm her down, how could she stay angry when she had the cutest little baby in her arms. Once he had finished with his milk, she brought him up to lay on her chest to gently burp him, humming a quiet tune. She relaxed instantly, taking in his newborn baby scent as he fell asleep so peacefully. 

It had been a little while by the time Natsu had found her under the tree. He had wanted to run after her straight away but had been stopped by the others, wanting to give Lucy some space. She hadn't noticed him yet, he wanted to gauge her mood first before he approached, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Lucy's wrath, especially when it sometimes rivalled Erza's.

He stood back and watched her for a little while, she was singing some sort of lullaby to Haru, the sight of her leant up against the tree with the baby laid against her, as she gently rubbed his back to soothe him, melted his heart. It stirred feelings within him he couldn’t place with words, what a truly breathtaking scene it was. 

She was always so worried about whether she was doing the right thing, that she couldn't see just what a good mother she undeniably was. She had spoken to him over her fears of not being good enough, not being 'maternal' as she put it. But he just couldn't understand how she didn't see it, she cared so much for their little boy. She always made sure he had everything he needed, so why was she so quick to put herself down?

It baffled him that she doubted herself so much, that she felt she wasn't good enough, when it was so clear to him that, together, they were little Haru's entire world. He'd decided that enough was enough, she was going to listen to him. If she was so ready to run herself down, then he would spend every minute of the day building her back up, if that's what it took.

He slowly approached, until he was standing in front of her, looking down at her almost intimidatingly so. Sensing his presence, she sighed, and looked up to him. What was she supposed to say? She felt so stupid for the way she'd reacted and the fact that she’d stormed off with Haru, without saying a word, how was she going to explain that to him? Natsu crouched down in front of her, staring deep into her eyes, she looked so lost, this was going to take some work.

"How you holding up, Luce?" He spoke softly, it sounded silly, but he didn't want to startle her and he definitely didn't want her running off again.

"I-I don't know. I can't explain what happened back there, I don’t know what came over me?" She answered, trying to think of the best way to tell him how she was feeling.

He remained silent, waiting for her to speak. He knew how her brain worked, he'd known her long enough by now to let her work through everything before she spoke.

"I'm sorry Natsu, I shouldn't have reacted that way towards you or stormed off like that, god knows what the other's think." She stopped, unable to meet his gaze, feeling utterly ashamed of herself, but she needed to carry on, to get everything off of her chest, "But I just couldn't control it, I felt so useless as he cried and my mind kept drifting back to when we found him and how terrified he must have been. He has lost so much already, and he's barely begun to live. I just wanted him to know that we were there waiting for him, that he didn't need to be scared. I let my emotions get the better of me and then I ran off with him in my arms without saying anything to you.” Her voice wavering as she found the courage to finally look at the dragon slayer in front of her, feeling completely overwhelmed by all of her conflicting feelings. 

Natsu didn’t respond straight away, sensing she wasn’t quite finished. He reached out for her hand and held it, encouraging her to go on. He had a feeling that there was something more to this, something hidden that she was reluctant to tell him. He waited patiently, watching her contemplate the best way to say it.

“Why am I so bad at this, Natsu? Do you think it’s because I didn’t actually carry and give birth to him? I didn’t have those extra nine months to bond with him like other mother’s do. Surely that would have an effect?" A few tears started to spill down her cheeks, she laid Haru down in her lap to free up her arms so she could quickly wipe the tears away.

And there it was, he knew there was something eating away at her, making her doubt herself when there was just no need for it. He had to put a stop to this once and for all, to make her see that these worries were a waste of energy.

"Lucy, I need you to listen to me and listen closely." He said, voice stern and his face serious. He leaned in closer to her and made himself comfortable, eyes still locked onto hers, "The way you reacted back there, was totally normal, so there's nothing to be sorry about. Don't most parents want to comfort their children when they're upset? But you need to stop doubting yourself so much. You are Haru’s mother, so it doesn’t matter who carried him or brought him into the world. You're so good with him, you give so much of yourself and you still can't see it. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, then you'd never put yourself down again. We're a team Luce, and now we're a family, and I want you to know just how important you are, not just to Haru, but to me as well. You always have been since the very beginning."

Lucy couldn't hold back her tears, how is it Natsu always knew the right things to say? She knew deep down he was right though, she needed to stop doubting herself. She would never be able to enjoy the time she has with Haru being so young with that kind of attitude, he wasn't going to be a baby forever. Natsu moved to sit next to her against the tree, he pulled her into his warm chest and wrapped his arm around her waist. She laid her head into the crook of his neck, savouring his warmth as they both glanced down at their baby.

Little Haru had woken up when Lucy had moved him a few minutes ago and now he was staring wide eyed at the two mages above him. Lucy moved her hand to slowly stroke his cheek, she couldn't stay upset for long, not with that sweet face to look at. She sighed in contentment this time, they really were a little family, her own little family that she loved dearly.

"Thank you Natsu, thank you for everything." She looked up at him, desperate to convey all her unspoken emotions.

He meant so much to her, he really had given her everything and even in times where she felt hopeless, he was always there, to offer a helping hand. He glanced at her still teary face, taken aback slightly, he wasn't expecting her to say that. And he definitely wasn't expecting her to climb atop of his lap, baby laid gently on the blanket next to them and pull him into a bone crushing hug. He couldn't complain really, the most gorgeous girl he'd ever known, had just straddled his hips and his face was currently nestled between her breasts. She smelled so good, and her skin was so soft, he could stay like this forever. He moved his hands to rest on her hips, fingers touching her exposed skin.

She pulled back to look into his eyes, she was so full of these feelings with no way to express them. She wanted to hold him, to touch him, to show him just how grateful she was to have him in her life, but not just as her best friend, as someone who meant so much more than that. She reached her hand up and gently moved a strand of hair away from his face, there was anticipation present in his eyes as he stared at her, waiting to see what she would do.

His hands had gone slightly under her top, touching more of her soft skin, stroking his thumb lightly over her hips. She let out a soft whimper at the feel of his warm hands, there was a hunger in her eyes that Natsu had never seen before. If they weren't out in public with a baby to look after he may have just taken her there and then. But he had to proceed with caution, if he got too excited, it was going to become very apparent between his legs, right where Lucy was sitting. 

Lucy had moved ever so slowly, closer to his face wanting to taste his lips, and explore his mouth with her own. She figured that if he didn't want this then he surely would have pushed her away by now, but he hadn't. If anything he looked at her wantonly and that gave her butterflies, Happy wasn't around this time to interrupt them, which meant they could finally-

"Well, Miss Heartfilia, fancy seeing you here." She heard an old woman's voice coming from beside them. Why were people so insistent on interrupting them, couldn't they just wait? Lucy turned, about to tell the person to go away, when she recognised who it was.

"Oh, er, hello. This isn't what it looks like." Lucy felt her entire body flush as she quickly retreated off of Natsu and back against the tree. Natsu grabbed the cooing baby from the blanket and held him close, looking at the dumpy woman glowering at them. Out of all the people to catch them in such a compromising position it had to be Lucy's landlady.

"Don’t play coy with me, it's exactly what it looks like. I must say, you're looking well for a woman that's only just had a baby. Although, I don't ever remember seeing you pregnant, but then that baby's so tiny it must have just slipped out." She looked to Natsu, not taking any notice of Lucy's mortified expression, and glared at him, "I take it you're the father, I always knew you two would end up together. Teenager's these days, you just can't keep it in your pants and now look at you both." Natsu was utterly speechless, completely gobsmacked by the woman's rudeness. This was the first time anyone had assumed the child was biologically theirs, though he knew it would happen eventually. He just wasn’t ready to hear it so nastily, especially towards Lucy, from this old bat. 

"Er, I think you've got it all wro-" Lucy started before she was interrupted by Natsu.

"Yes, Lucy and I have a child together which makes me the baby's father, I'm not entirely sure what you’re trying to get at here or what your problem is, Lady?" Natsu blurts, not really thinking about what he was saying but letting it come out anyway, he didn't understand what their situation had to do with her and why she was being so damn rude about it. He could feel his magic burning under his skin, he wanted nothing more than to torch this woman’s ass. 

"Well, it would have been nice to be told that you were having a baby and had moved in together in the apartment you rent from me. I'm sorry Miss Heartfilia, but my apartment is for single people only. Now that you have a baby you'll no longer be able to stay there. You have two days to pack your things and leave, so I can find a new tenant." She said sternly, not taking any prisoners.

"Two days? What the hell, you're kicking me out?! Is this about rent money because it's not even due yet!" Lucy felt her little bubble of happiness burst as she realised she was about to become homeless in a matter of two days. What was she going to do? Her landlady didn't say another word as she trotted off out of sight.

Lucy just wanted to this day to be over, why was everything going so wrong? She leaned back against the tree and put her hand over her face. Wanting nothing more than to scream as loud as she could to get rid of all her pent up frustration.

"Why me! What kind of a person kicks out a mother and her baby?!" She shouts out loud. She was infuriated, what an absolute bitch!

Natsu hadn't said anything, he couldn't believe that old woman had done this to Lucy but he wasn't going to let it get Lucy down. He leapt to his feet with the biggest grin on his face, holding little Haru close, he looked down to Lucy and held out his hand.

"Come on, Luce. I gotta show you something!" He waited for her to take his hand but instead she just stared at him, deadpanned.

"Huh? Did you not just hear what that woman said? I've got two days to find somewhere new to live, and you're smiling!" She yelled, perplexed by his happy demeanour. 

Her mind was frantic, what was she going to do? Where were all her and Haru's belonging’s going to go? Lucy felt as if the ground beneath her had crumbled and Natsu was still standing there, being so irritatingly calm about the situation, how could he be happy at a time like this?

"I'm smiling because you're gonna love it, I can't wait to see your face! Let's go Lucy!" He grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her up to her feet and before she could say another word, he sprinted off, Lucy and Haru in-tow, towards his surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so this chapter ended up being quite long again. But I really wanted to show how both Natsu and Lucy felt about being parents so far and how it was affecting them. Obviously, Lucy is having a bit of a rough time right now but it won't always be the case. I hope you enjoyed reading!


	5. Natsu's Surprise!

"Where are we going Natsu? We're now heading away from Magnolia! What could possibly be so exciting about the forest that you had to show me right now?" Lucy huffed as she trudged along, still being pulled by Natsu's hand. She really wasn't in the mood for Natsu's antics right now, couldn't he see that she was having one hell of a day? She didn't need him to pull some silly prank or show her some 'really cool frog' that he'd found.

"Lucy, come on! You're slowing us down!" Natsu looked over his shoulder at the blonde and grinned at her. If she would just cooperate with him, the surprise would make her feel so much better and to help her see that not all hope was lost.

They carried on for what seemed like hours to Lucy, walking past the last buildings on the outskirts of the city. Lucy rarely ventured out this far, there was no need to. The only person she knew that lived out this way was Natsu and he spent the majority of his time at hers or in the guild, so she highly doubted Natsu was going to show her his house. She knew what that looked like, she'd been there enough times to visit him.

She tried to wrack her brain for what he could possibly be dying to show her, something that she would love, is what he said, right? She pondered whilst being dragged forwards, what could it be? Natsu was so unpredictable sometimes, that it was hard to pinpoint if he was even being serious.

Once they reached a clearing, Natsu stopped and turned to her, he had such a serious expression, it caught Lucy off guard for a minute. What was he up to? The suspense was killing her, but just as she was about to yell at him, a white scaly scarf covered her eyes and blocked her vision, she could feel Natsu tightening it around her head.

"What the-? How am I supposed to walk the rest of the way if I can't see?" Lucy was totally baffled, why the hell was she wearing a blindfold?

"I can't let you see the rest of the way, you'll just have to trust me." Natsu said, he could see she was reluctant to go any further. He understood why, but was absolutely certain that his surprise would make everything, once again, right with the world, hopefully.

"I-I'm really not sure about this." Lucy stuttered, voice sounding uncertain, it wasn't that she didn't trust Natsu, she just wasn't in the best state of mind right now.

"Trust me, Lucy. It'll be worth it, I promise." He whispered up against her ear, pulling her back into him as he spoke, minding not to squish the baby still tucked into his jacket.

He reached his hand up to her shoulder to reassure her and ever so slowly skimmed the soft skin of her arm down to her hand, before interlacing their fingers. The sheer heat of his touch was enough to set her skin on fire, she gasped at the feeling, it seemed much more intimate with a blindfold on and she could hear him give a low chuckle, was he laughing at her? She wondered if he knew what kind of effect he had on her, maybe that's why he teased her so much. She could feel heat rise up her neck and spread across her face, but before she could say anything further, she was being gently tugged forwards.

Natsu was careful to lead her through mostly level ground, as comical as it was to watch her stumble, and grab hold of his jacket every few seconds, he didn't want her to actually fall and hurt herself.

Lucy, however, was starting to get frustrated, she had been tempted to just take the stupid blindfold off altogether. But Natsu seemed so determined to show her, whatever it was, he wanted to surprise her with that she had to admit, the further they walked, the more she could feel anticipation rising in her chest.

"Alright Luce, we're here! Are you ready for this?" Natsu was brimming with excitement, but he wanted to savour this moment, feeling a little tense himself, he just hoped that she liked it. She nodded, feeling her own nerves bubble in her stomach, adrenaline was coursing through her veins. "Only open your eyes when I tell you to." He walked behind her and undid his scarf from her head and leant down to her ear, "You can open them now." He said softly, gauging her reaction.

Lucy's eyes opened instantly and what she saw before her, admittedly confused her at first. They were standing outside of what was once Natsu and Happy's house. She couldn't put her finger on it but it looked different, bigger, much bigger in fact, more windows. Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked forward to get a better look.

From what use to be a little single storey hut with a tree growing out of it, now stood a much larger, two storey house. It had been cleaned up nicely and looked really charming on the outside. The wooden front door was situated in the middle with a window either side, then two large windows above for rooms that were now upstairs. It had a slight quirkiness to it, especially with the tree still growing through the middle.

She stepped back a bit, wanting to get a better look of the entire house, not paying attention to where she was treading, her leg collided with something hard. Turning to see what she'd walked into, she saw a sign. The sign that had always been at there, she remembered it reading 'Natsu and Happy's place' or something like that. She read it out loud, eyes widening from not fully believing what she was saying, no longer did it say just Natsu and Happy, but her and Haru as well. She took in a quick inhale, and continued to stare at it, allowing the cogs in her head to turn.

Tears suddenly flooded down her cheeks as she realised what Natsu had done, what he was so eager to show her. It was obvious to her now, where he'd been running off to every day, why he didn't seem to care about her losing her apartment. He'd planned for them to move in with him and Happy. To live together in their own house, just like a normal family. She couldn't help but let the tears fall, there were no words to describe how truly grateful she was.

Natsu stood back and watched her look around, he had wondered what was taking her so long, until he saw the tears spilling down her cheeks. His mind instantly went into overdrive, why the hell was she crying? Had he done something wrong? He quickly shot over to her, to see how he could make this better. But just as he was about to open his mouth, Lucy stopped him with her finger.

Stunned into silence, he watched as she brought her body in as close as she could, wrapping her arms around his torso and giving him the biggest face splitting grin she could as her eyes flickered up at him, she couldn't contain her happiness. Glad to see her smile, he felt the relief wash over him as he grinned back at her, she looked so pleased.

"Is this where you've been running off to?" She asked, wiping the tears away from her cheeks, still grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course, I wasn't just leaving you. I wanted to surprise you when the time was right. What d'you think?" He asked nervously, why was he so nervous? She was happy, that was a good sign! It wouldn't be too different to their usual arrangement, only Lucy wouldn't be able to kick him out now.

"It's incredible what you've done, Natsu! I can't believe you did this for all of us, I'm lost for words!" Lucy was over the moon, they were finally going to have a home big enough for all four of them, all thanks to Natsu.

"You haven't even seen the inside yet. Let me show you!" Natsu was so pleased to hear that she liked it. He'd do anything to see that pretty smile.

He lead the way, and entered through the big wooden door. The inside looked just as charming as the outside. There was a small porch that lead into the main living area, it was bright and airy, a total contrast to what it use to look like. There wasn't much furniture or anything in there yet, but once they moved all of Lucy's stuff in it would definitely feel more homely. There was a large open fire place and to the back there was an open plan kitchen and dining area. It was cosy and plenty big enough for all of them to live comfortably.

As Lucy looked over everything, picturing what it would look like once there was more furniture and some homely touches, she let her imagination run away with her. She could picture it now... standing in the kitchen with Natsu, watching Haru play with Happy in the living area. She could smell the dinner cooking on the stove, and the room was all nicely decorated, lots of furniture and pictures of all of them on every wall. Smiling happily, she busied herself, she could feel Natsu come up behind her and gently wrap his arms around her waist, head nestling into the crook of her neck while his hands softly lay on her small, pregnant belly...

"Earthland to Lucy!" Natsu was standing in front of her, waving his hand in her face to try and get her attention, wondering why she wasn't responding.

She immediately snapped out of her daze, looking straight up to Natsu, mortified by the daydream she'd just had. What was that? Why was she imagining such things?

"Are you okay, Luce? Does your tummy hurt?" Natsu seemed concerned, gesturing towards her stomach. Why would he think her stomach hurt?

She looked down and gasped, her hand had somehow come up to rest against her lower abdomen, just like Natsu had been doing in her daydream. She dropped it immediately to her side, mouth agape. What was she doing? In front of Natsu of all places! She chanced a glance at him, unable to contain her shock at her own actions. Luckily, Natsu hadn't paid it much attention, putting it down to her being weird as usual. She shook her head to try and rid herself of such thoughts and attempted to think of an explanation for her 'weirdness.'

"Er, sorry Natsu, did you say something?" She could kick herself, playing dumb wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but she'd gotten away with it, somehow.

Natsu smiled at her, glad to see that she was fine, before leading her up the stairs. The first room they came to was Haru's bedroom, it was stunning. Natsu had decorated it with bright colours and fire dragons all over the walls. Lucy wasn't surprised, obviously Natsu would want his son to be surrounded by dragons. She had to agree though, it was definitely appropriate for the little boy.

"It's perfect Natsu, you did a great job with this!" She beamed at him, before taking Haru from his arms and walking him around his bedroom, "Hi there baby!" Lucy held him close and kissed his cheek as he grumbled awake, making little cute noises and yawning, "What a big yawn! Mama didn't mean to wake you, but look at what Daddy's done. Do you like your cool new room?" She giggled at the baby, who wouldn't stop wriggling as she attempted to show him his bedroom. "Oh, you do like it! I thought you would!" She put on her best over the top voice, grinning from ear to ear at the baby's bewildered face.

Natsu's face split into a grin, chuckling at the sight of Lucy being silly with Haru, whilst leaning up against the door frame. There was something so raw and pure about seeing the beautiful blonde behave this way with their son. He could watch her like this all day and never get bored.

"Come on you two, there's still more to see." He said, gesturing for her to follow him. She adjusted the little one in her arms and walked out of the bedroom, following Natsu down the hall way, taking a quick look in the bathroom. She was so pleased to see a big bath tub sitting in the corner of the room. Next to the bathroom, was another bedroom, it needed furniture still, and Lucy couldn't help but wonder who would sleep in there.

"So, is this where I sleep? I-I mean do we have two separate rooms?" She asked nervously, she hoped that wasn't the case. She felt a little disappointed at the idea of sleeping alone.

"No, Luce, this is just a spare. I figured we would sleep in the same room like we always do. As long as you're alright with that?" He asked, realising that he was so use to sleeping next to Lucy, he'd assumed she'd be fine with it.

"Natsu, you've been breaking into my home and sleeping in my bed for years, why break the habit of a lifetime?" She smirked at him, relieved that they were going to be sharing a bedroom at least.

Natsu's face lit up, remembering all the times he'd broken in to sleep next to her. She shook her head at him playfully, he was such a dork sometimes. They then came to the biggest bedroom, their bedroom. This was the room he was most nervous about, he just prayed that she'd approve.

As Lucy walked in, the first thing she noticed was the bed, it was huge! She was also quite relieved that there was only one bed, she did enjoy sleeping next to the dragon slayer, he was always so warm and he made her feel safe at night. She caught sight of the window and looked out at the glistening city below, it was astonishing! Lucy could imagine herself sitting at the window often, reading a book and appreciating the view.

She went to sit on the bed, laying Haru down in the middle of it, whilst Natsu took a seat next to her. They sat there in silence for a little while, Lucy was totally overwhelmed by what Natsu had done and she wasn't sure how she could ever show how thankful she was. He had built them a home, he'd transformed his little hut so that they could all live together.

It amazed her, for someone who could be so immature and impulsive, could also do all of this. He'd grown so much since they first met, he'd matured in a way she hadn't realised until recently. He was still the same care free, destructive dragon slayer, but he also had this whole other side to him. A part of him that she mostly had the privilege of experiencing. He still had that loveable boyish charm about him, but he was definitely no boy, not any more. This change was most notable when he was looking after Haru.

Natsu in full on 'daddy mode' made her feel things she'd never felt before, including that weird daydream she'd had downstairs. The image had felt real, and the staggering feeling that came over her when she saw Natsu cradling her small swollen stomach, filled her with this longing, and with hope that one day, it wouldn't just be a daydream.

The silence had started to make him feel uneasy, not wanting to startle her, he kept his voice low, reaching out his hand to lay against the one she had splayed across her upper thigh.

"Whatcha thinking, Luce?" He asked, unsure of what the answer might be.

"I was thinking about you, Natsu. What you've done here for us, I don't think I'll ever be able to show you how thankful I am. This means so much to me, to us as a family. You've made us a home, one that Haru can grow up happily in." She said, eyes glassy but refusing to allow any more tears to fall, this was a happy moment and she wanted to show Natsu that. "Who'd have thought when we first met, this is where it would lead. I definitely never saw any of this coming! But I wouldn't change it for anything." She chuckled, thinking back over the years. Her voice trailed off a little from the intense look he was giving her, why did he have such an effect on her?

"Does that mean you'll come and live with me and Happy then? All of us together, Luce?" Natsu asked. He could feel his nerves bubble in his belly, like he was suffering from motion sickness. He'd never felt so anxious in his life, what was Lucy doing to him?

"Yes, Natsu! I'd love to!" She leapt at him in her enthusiasm, shoving him back onto the large bed, giggling as she looked down at him.

He couldn't hold back his own laugh as she threw herself at him, holding her close to him. When they came down from their high and separated, she'd noticed him ogling, not just at her face, but at her body as well. Neither had realised their compromising position. She'd landed solidly on top of him, straddling his hips with her ass lightly grazing his groin. He looked a little fuddled, like he wasn't sure what to make of the situation.

Lucy kinda found it cute, it wasn't very often the brazen dragon slayer looked so caught off guard. And that's when the idea popped into her head and she smirked down at him. Haru was still asleep which meant it was only the two of them, she figured from all the excitement, she could have a little fun with him. It was time to get pay back for all the times he'd teased her. How would he take to being on the receiving end for once?

"The infamous salamander seems to have lost his nerve." She sat herself up slowly onto him, pushing herself down into his crotch. "What's the problem, fire boy? Not use to having a girl on top of you?"

She watched as his face moulded into one he would usually adorn for battle as he realised what she was doing. Natsu's eyes were trained on hers, she was playing a dangerous game, one he would always win. She'd have to do better than that if she wanted to get a reaction out of him. He lifted an eyebrow at her and smirked, he could always play along, but there was no fun in that, he was much too competitive.

"You're lighting a wild fire, Lucy, and I'll make sure it burns." He growled threateningly, eyes never leaving hers as he heated his hands and touched the bare skin on her legs. He wasn't going to lose, not when she was so easy to fluster.

The feel of his searing hands on her, was electrifying, she could only imagine how they would stimulate other parts of her body. She let out a soft whimper, briefly giving in to her desire. His eyes were piercing and it made her feel weak, like a predator about to capture its prey. Even underneath her he still managed to look intimidating.

"Is that a threat, Mr Dragneel?" Her courage dwindling the more he stared at her like that. She leant down, pushing her chest firmly into his and whispered against his ear, caging his head between her hands. "Or a promise?"

"What do you think, Lucy?" He whispered back. She gasped as he grabbed her arms and held her in place, chuckling lowly at her attempts to break free.

She'd let her guard down trying to be seductive and now he had the upper hand. She yelped as he swiftly swapped their positions. Trapping her in with his larger, heavier body. He'd pinned her hands above her head, his hips were now hovering above hers, resting ever so closely to her sweet spot. He lowered his face to hers, smirking at the blush making it's way up her neck, revelling in his victory.

"I win!" He breathed softly against her, smugness was written all over his face and Lucy couldn't help but let out a slight huff of frustration, puffing out her cheeks.

"I almost had you!" She heaved, not meeting his eyes, trying to control her rapid heart beat. One of these days she was going to win and he's not going to know what hit him. She just needed to find his weakness, catch him off guard somehow.

"Sure you did, Luce." He chuckled at her cuteness, letting go of her hands and placing his own down on the mattress beside her head to hold himself up.

Looking down at her splayed out underneath him, was an incredible sight. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Her angelic blonde hair was wildly covering the bed around her, and her deep chocolate brown eyes were filled with unspoken feelings. He loved fooling about with her, sure it was fun to tease her, but to see her have fun and be herself was something he would never get enough of.

She reached her hand up and cupped his cheek, he looked so far away yet he was staring right at her. She wondered what he was thinking, they'd been messing about just seconds ago and now the atmosphere had changed.

He leant into her hand, relishing in the softness of her skin. He wanted nothing more than to connect with her on a more intimate level, but would she let him? They'd come so close a few times, yet it still felt so far. He was hesitant, he didn't want to freak her out and push her past her limits, but, at the same time, she'd never shown any resistance to his previous advances. Maybe it was what she wanted too? There was only one way to find out.

He brought his face down to hers, eyes flickering between her eyes and lips as he moistened his with his tongue. He tucked his hand under her ear, fingers tangling in her silky hair. She could feel the butterflies going wild in her stomach, he was so close to her mouth, she could feel his heavy breath against hers. She reached her remaining hand up to rest on his other cheek, hoping it would give him the encouragement he needed to take the plunge. His lips ever so softly brushed against hers, testing the water, sparking a fire within her. He felt a bolt of electricity shoot straight through him and that's when he was sure, this was what he wanted.

Without warning, he completely bypassed Lucy's face and smacked his down into the mattress beside her, giving an exasperated sigh. When was he going to catch a break? Their lips had touched, just a few more seconds and who knows where it would've lead.

"W-What's the matter, Natsu? Did I do something wrong?" She asked, a little dismayed, her voice breaking. What just happened? She didn't understand, nobody had interrupted them this time, so what could be the problem? She was sure he was about to kiss her, and now, she could feel her heart sinking at the idea that she'd gotten it all wrong. Had she misread the situation?

"No, Luce, you didn't do anything." He murmured, bringing his head back up to look at her. He winced at her hurt expression, in his turmoil, he'd forgotten that Lucy was none the wiser to his actions. She was probably freaking out in that head of hers, he'd essentially just rejected her and that was definitely not his intention.

"Then why didn't you-?" She couldn't help the tremble in her voice, water gathered in the corner of her eyes, "Did you not want to?"

"What?!" His eyes wide like saucers, "No Lucy, you've got it all wrong! Of course I wanted to, I want nothing more. It's just we have company." He couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

He definitely didn't want Lucy thinking that he didn't want her, because he did, so much in fact. But he was so annoyed that they'd yet again been interrupted, he couldn't hide his frustration.

"Huh…? Who…?" She suddenly darted her head up to look at Haru, who was still fast asleep, then to the door, but no one was there. Who was he talking about?

"It's Happy." Natsu said, he could smell the little Exceed approaching, he felt bad but he kinda wanted more alone time with Lucy, "I left him at the guild earlier when I came looking for you." He smiled sheepishly at Lucy, as he stood up from the bed and helped her to her feet.

Within seconds, Happy flew in through the bedroom door, barrelling straight into Lucy, putting on his best fake cry. Whining into her chest about how worried he'd been and what a meanie Natsu was for not telling him where he was going. She stroked his head gently and rolled her eyes at his antics. Natsu who still had that sheepish look on his face, rubbed the back of his head. He did feel guilty, but his mind had been preoccupied with Lucy and Haru at the time.

Just as Natsu was about to apologise to Happy, his sensitive hearing picked up the quiet whimpers of the baby on the bed, smiling to himself, he walked over to him and picked him up gently. He wondered when the little guy was going to wake up, especially after all the messing about they were doing and that was before the commotion with Happy. His little whimpers turning into sweet grunts, it almost sounded like he was trying to say something, even though Natsu knew that he was too young for that yet, but went along with it anyway.

"Is that right? What a cool dream! Daddy dreams of food too. And I bet you've woken up super hungry?" Natsu found it funny when the baby wriggled at his words. He enjoyed having pretend conversations with Haru, even if the baby was totally clueless. "Let's go and get you some milk then, shall we?" He said, as they all make their way downstairs.

Natsu sat himself down on the floor and watched fondly as Haru drank his milk. He wondered for moment what the little boy would grow up to be like, or what he would even look like. Little Haru had a very thin coat of, what looked like, black hair, his skin was very pale and he had these enormous pale blue eyes. Natsu had to admit, he really was a cute looking baby. He couldn't really remember what the biological parents had looked like in great detail, they had no records of his birth or family history, so he figured they'd just have to wait and see.

"What do you think of the house then, Lucy?" Happy asked, breaking Natsu out of his trance as he looked up at the Exceed.

"I love it! It's wonderful!" She beamed, "I take it you knew about it then?"

"Duh! Everybody did. Natsu told us not to tell you!" Happy said, matter of fact. Of course they all knew, she shouldn't have expected any different. "Oh, that reminds me, Porlyusica said she wants to see Haru again at some point." Happy said. He noticed Lucy sweat drop, maybe he should have waited to tell her that.

"N-No, not again!" Lucy's heart thumped in her chest, her panic escalating rapidly. She really didn't want a repeat of what happened earlier, she didn't think she'd be able to cope, "I couldn't bare to listen to him cry like that again, it was heart breaking!" She put her head into her hands and tried to calm herself down, feeling her worries flood back.

"You seriously think I would let that happen again? Not a chance, Luce! If the old crow wants to see Haru, then it'll be on our terms. Don't let it get to you." Natsu said sternly, he always did have a way of making her feel better, even if he wasn't the best with words.

"Natsu's right Lucy. You guys have the last say, not anyone else. If Haru cries and you want to comfort him, then you do that!" Happy chirped in, he was very much like Natsu in that regard, always knew what to say.

She smiled whilst walking over to Natsu and making herself comfortable on the floor next to him. Happy had come over to sit on her lap. They sat there quietly, listening to the little gulps of the feeding infant. Lucy reached up and slowly started to stroke little Haru's head, she smiled brightly at him. Once he'd finished feeding, Natsu pulled the bottle gently out of Haru's mouth and placed it next to him. Cuddled together on the floor, they watched as Lucy's soft caresses sent the little baby into a peaceful slumber.

"He really is perfect! I could sit here and watch him sleep all day, but no doubt he'll be awake again in a few hours wanting more milk." She said, chuckling at the how big of an appetite the baby had. She looked over to Natsu, who hadn't taken his eyes off of the sleeping baby curled up in his lap.

"Man, could you imagine if this kid was really ours by blood, his appetite would rival mine!" Natsu laughed, not realising the implication of his words until they were already out of his mouth. He noticed Lucy's eyes widen and her cheeks turn pink, he wasn't sure what possessed him to say that, but it was too late now.

"Natsu wants to do naughty things to Lucy!" Happy giggled, with his hand covering his mouth.

"Shut up, cat!" Lucy said through gritted teeth, wanting to strangle the little menace, she glowered at him venomously, "You're lucky Haru's sleeping or I'd be pulling out your whiskers!" She threatened, although she wasn't overly adverse to the idea of her and Natsu, especially after how close they'd been earlier. But she wasn't going to tell Happy that, he'd tell everybody and use it against them.

"Maybe we should get going, all of Haru's stuff is still at yours, Luce. But we can start moving you both in tomorrow, the sooner the better?" Natsu said, changing the subject. Giving Lucy the baby so that he could save Happy from his impending doom. His excitement instantly returning as he remembered Lucy was going to be living with him.

Lucy nodded at him excitedly, instantly forgetting her bitterness towards the feline. She was looking forward to what tomorrow would bring. They gathered their things and left to return to Lucy's apartment. Natsu lit his hand on fire to help guide their way as they walked into the night. The stars were out, shining brilliantly, she'd never realised how clearly they could be seen from Natsu's house before. Maybe one day she could teach Haru all about the stars and constellations just like her mother once did with her.

As they neared Lucy's apartment building, she stopped and stared at it for a moment. She was going to miss living there, she had so many fond memories that she would cherish forever. Natsu was about to jump through the window, when he noticed Lucy hadn't followed him. He looked back at her, she looked conflicted, on the one hand, she was smiling and yet her eyes were glassy like she was ready to cry.

"Luce? Is everything alright?" He asked, walking back over to her.

"Of course Natsu, everything is more than alright. I was just thinking of all the memories this place has, that's all." She smiled softly at him, eyes flickering up to his to reassure him that she was fine.

"And now we can make new ones, in our new home. Come on Luce, let's go inside. Haru needs his crib." He linked his hand with hers and for once used the door to make his way up to Lucy's apartment.

They carefully set Haru down in his crib and laid Happy on Lucy's bed. Lucy quickly ran to the bathroom to get herself ready for bed, while Natsu shrugged his clothes off and laid down. He was going to miss sleeping in this bed with Lucy, it was so comfortable. But the bed that they were going to be sleeping in, was just as good, just a lot bigger. He figured that Lucy would want her space from time to time, not that she ever complained about him sleeping with her any more. Which he was really glad about.

He loved feeling her soft skin cuddled up to him at night, especially when she wore next to nothing, which he never really understood. She might as well be naked with some of the clothes she had, they didn't leave all that much up to the imagination. His mind wondered back to earlier when they had been messing around, she'd looked so right laying there, splayed out on the bed with him on top of her. He could imagine her being underneath him for other reasons, more 'adult' reasons. He shook his head, ridding himself of those thoughts, before his body reacted without his permission. Maybe Lucy had been up for kissing him, but sex was a whole different kettle of fish.

They still needed to get past the first hurdle, and that was proving challenging. He couldn't believe how close they had come and how hurt Lucy had been when he hadn't followed through. Did she really want it that badly? The thought sent shivers through his body, her lips had felt so soft from the brief contact he'd had with them and it felt like a switch had been flipped inside of him, he could only assume that she was just as keen and that made him happy. But he'd have to be patient and allow her to come to him, or he risked pushing her away and that was the last thing he wanted.

Lucy quietly re-emerged from the bathroom, and walked over to the crib, she hadn't realised just how tired she was until the cold air had hit her outside, it had been a very long day and there was lots to think about, but for now she needed a good nights sleep. Natsu watched fondly as she kissed Haru tenderly on the head before slipping into bed, cosying up to the dragon slayers warmth.

She wrapped her arms around Natsu, holding him close, she smiled at him before closing her eyes. Within seconds, her breathing had evened out, indicating she'd fallen asleep. Natsu gaped just a little longer at the beautiful blonde cuddled up to him, he wished he'd been able to kiss her earlier, to show his affections, but he'd have to wait and see, who knows what tomorrow would bring. He moved the hair that had fallen into her face and smiled at how peaceful she looked. Leaning over, he gave a little peck on her cheek, watching the sides of her lips perk up into a small smile. Smiling himself, he made himself comfortable and slowly closed his eyes, he knew what he'd be dreaming of tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there was a little bit of 'messing around' in this chapter, but I could really imagine them both doing that and because there is so much sexual tension between them, I think they both know it, they just don't like to outwardly admit it. Thanks for reading!


	6. My Very Own Family

"I'm exhausted!" Lucy complained as she finally sat down on the couch. It had been a long week of moving in to their new home and they'd only just finished sorting it all out.

"I think I could sleep for a whole month after that!" Natsu exhaled, as he collapsed on to the seat next to her, sprawling himself out.

It had been hard juggling caring for a baby and trying to make their new house habitable. They hadn't had much sleep and both had been working round the clock to get it all done as quickly as they could. Lucy had given the key back to her apartment a few days ago, so now they were officially living together.

"I've never lived in a house that's so clean and homely before." Natsu said as he looked around at the newly decorated living area. Lucy had been very particular with how she wanted the place to look, it's probably why it had taken longer than expected.

"You do realise that now I'm living with you, I expect you to keep it that way, or…" She stopped, contemplating a good compromise that would catch the dragon slayers attention. "I won't make you dinner every night."

"Every night, huh? Is that a deal?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. He would totally put up with cleaning if it meant Lucy would cook for him every night. He loved it when Lucy cooked him food, she was a great cook! Her food was like nothing he'd ever had before. She knew exactly what he liked and she would always make loads with his enormous appetite in mind.

"Hmm… I guess it is. You clean, I'll cook, that sounds fair to me." Staring into his face, she leaned closer to him, "But, break the deal and you won't be getting any dinner." She smirked at him, eyes twinkling mischievously.

"But Lucy, I'd just end up trying to do it myself and burn the kitchen down. You know how careless I can be when I cook." Feigning indifference, he shrugged his shoulders and quirked his lips playfully.

He thought back on all the times he'd nearly burnt down Lucy's little apartment because he'd tried to make them something. It wasn't that he couldn't cook, he was just too impatient when it came to the stove, preferring to use his magic instead. The twinkle slowly faded from her eyes when she realised he was being quite serious.

"You wouldn't dare!" That impish glint was ever present on his face and it was making Lucy nervous. "I forbid it!"

"Try me." He said devilishly, why did he feel the urge to mess with her all the time? "I don't think you'd like the outcome though, Lucy." He leaned in so that his face was mere inches from hers, and teasingly blew hot smoke over her form.

He couldn't hold back his laughter when she gasped at his actions. He was such a bastard sometimes, it wasn't fair that he would always manage to get one up on her. Well not today, she was going to come out victorious for once. And she knew exactly how to do it.

"Oh, back to making threats now are we?" She breathed seductively. She ever so carefully brought herself forwards and climbed into his lap, locking eyes with him she licked her lips and pressed her voluptuous breasts firmly into his exposed chest, spilling out of her less than modest top. "Make me purr, Natsu..." She mewled, laying her head on his shoulder and putting on her best innocent expression, just like she did when she'd had one too many.

"Make you purr? I can do more than that." He growled, a smirk ever present on his face as he watched the redness appear once again on her milky skin.

"What?! Oh my-! Natsu, you can't say things like that!" She said, burying her head in her hands, she felt even more embarrassed now by her own actions. He'd been on to her the entire time! "What is it gonna take?!"

"I can think of a few ways, but acting drunk isn't one of them." He chuckled at her very red blush. "By the way, you have a great body and all, Lucy, but using it against me isn't gonna work either. I've seen you naked way too much for it to shock me any more."

"Wait, you like my body?" She asked, completely taken aback by what he'd said, she felt a little confused. If he liked it then why had he never shown any interest in it? It's not like she hid it or anything, her clothes were pretty revealing.

"Yeah, I thought that was obvious?" He tilted his head at her, now it was his turn to be confused. Had he ever said otherwise? He loved looking at her body, he had just gotten use to seeing her naked, because she seemed to always be naked. "I'm still a guy, Lucy. I went through puberty, just like the rest of 'em."

She leant back so that she was now kneeling between his legs. Why was it such a shock to hear that he liked her body? It was the first time she'd ever heard Natsu say something like that, it had just taken her by surprise is all. She felt those butterflies in her stomach again as she stared intently at him. He really had changed, he never would have spoken like this when they first met.

"Sorry, Natsu. I don't know what came over me. I guess I just wasn't expecting you to say that." She could see the confusion still written on his face, she looked down timidly, fiddling with her fingers, "I-It's just, you don't really act like other guys. They're quite quick to make comments about me, yet you never do. I've never even seen you look, not like that anyway."

"The guys that do that are usually gross, old perverts and they're only seeing from the chest down. But I'm seeing the whole picture, they don't know you like I do. And yeah, you have a great body, but you have a lot of great things, Lucy." He pulled her back into his lap, laying her head against his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her, wanting her to be more at ease. She snuggled into him, feeling his chest vibrate as he spoke. "What I really like to see is that sweet smile when it lights up your entire face, and those big brown eyes of yours that tell me everything even when you can't. I know who you are Lucy, and that gives me more satisfaction then staring at you in your birthday suit."

Natsu cuddled her close. He wanted her to feel comfortable around him, their entire relationship was built on loyalty and trust. If he spoke or acted like all those lechers, she'd run for the hills. Lucy was right, he didn't act like other guys, it'd always made him feel uncomfortable when he heard people comment on Lucy's looks when they were out. Some were down right sickening, but he couldn't react to them. As much as he wanted to burn every single asshole that made some sleazy remark about his blonde partner, he had to remember that Lucy was none the wiser to their twisted fantasies. She couldn't hear what he did and it was in those times he was glad for it. If Lucy knew half of what was said, she'd never leave the house again.

Lucy felt her nerves calm, revelling in his comforting hold. She was completely speechless, he'd just said the sweetest things to her. She felt a warmth swell in her chest and that familiar overwhelming feeling came over her again. That need to touch him, to be with him, to show him her affections in the only way she knew how. Her eyes flickered down to his lips, they had felt so soft and warm when she had brushed them before, would he object if she tried to touch them again? Happy wasn't due back from the market yet and Haru was asleep still. She moved slightly to face him, determination on her features.

They both felt the mood shift between them, the air was thick with yearning and need. Lucy leaned up towards his face as he slowly stooped down towards hers. Natsu licked his lips, he moved his hand to the nape of her neck to hold her in place, and took a moment to ogle at her pretty pink face.

Before her courage faded, she leant in, tilting her head, their noses ever so lightly brushed against each other. She opened her mouth, ready to accept his lips with her own. She could feel his breathing become heavier the closer she got, matching his harsh breaths with her own. Her eyes flickered between his eyes and mouth as their lips ever so softly pressed together.

"I'm back guys!" Happy yelled, flying in through the door. Catching a peek of the two mages together on the couch. He put his hand over his mouth and sniggered to himself.

Lucy, lost in what was happening, had jumped out of her skin as soon as Happy had come in, flying off of the couch in her panic and landing on the solid wooden floor. Her head had smacked hard against it and she'd yelped out in pain. Natsu had tried to catch her but she was gone before he could react in time. He looked down at the young blonde, wincing at the sound of her head connecting with the floor.

"Lucy! Are you okay?" Natsu asked her, concerned.

"Ow! My head!" She complained, her head was really hurting. She snapped her head towards the cat, why was he back so soon? "Couldn't you just come in the door like a normal person? Rather then scaring me half to death!" Lucy barked, not hearing Natsu's question in her annoyance towards the blue feline.

She regretted raising her voice instantly. The little whimpers coming from the basket indicated that Haru had been woken prematurely and now he was probably going to scream the house down. Natsu quickly stood, leaning over Lucy's form, holding out his hand to her to help her up and in one swoop she was on her feet, clutching at the painful lump forming on her head.

Happy hadn't taken any notice and had flown into the kitchen to put the food away, clamping down his ears when the baby started wailing at the top of his voice. Natsu stooped over the basket and picked the baby up, holding him against his shoulder. He slowly rubbed the infants back, hoping it would soothe him, but it only seemed to agitate him further. He must have been in a deep sleep if he was this upset from waking up. Lucy retrieved a bottle of milk and gave it to Natsu to warm up. Sitting down on the couch, he laid Haru down on his lap and began to feed him the bottle, instantly silencing him.

"Did Mama wake you up with her shouting?" Natsu said jokingly to Haru. He looked up to Lucy who had recovered from her fall and chuckled at her annoyed face. Before returning his attention to the baby, and smiling, "But I think we can forgive her."

"It was that damn cat's fault not mine! But at least he's settled now, it's amazing what a bottle of milk can do." Lucy said as she smiled down at the baby, gently caressing his cheek with the back of her finger. She turned her attention to Happy, "Speaking of food, did you get everything we needed at the market, Happy?"

"Sure did! I even found a stall that sold lots of fish, so I bought loads of that." Happy beamed. He took all the fish out that he'd bought to show Lucy, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wow, that's a lot of fish. I guess we're having that for dinner tonight, sound good Natsu?" She asked, as she busied herself in the kitchen.

"Sounds great! I'm starving!" He said, placing the 'milk drunk' baby back in his basket to finish the rest of his nap.

With their full bellies from dinner, all four of the inhabitants had fallen asleep in the living area, exhausted from the previous week. Natsu had been the first to wake, as the evening sun lit up the room and gave it an orangey hue. He blearily opened his eyes, getting them use to the dull light.

He could feel the warmth of his blonde partner up against him, there were little snores coming from the tiny, swaddled baby in the basket next to the couch, and the purrs of a little exceed asleep next to him. He let out a breath and smiled to himself. What a beautiful evening it was, he had his three most favourite people close to him and he couldn't have been happier.

Haru had been such a good boy for them whilst they had been busy doing up their house. He had appeared more alert than usual during the day, taking in what was around him. It was an absolute privilege to experience the world through the eyes of a baby, everything was so new and exciting. Natsu felt like a child again himself, he couldn't wait for Haru to start walking and talking. They were all going to have so much fun!

Lucy liked to take a more practical approach to parenting. She had read so many books on babies in the short time they'd had him, that Natsu was amazed by her dedication to educating herself. He was also quite impressed by his own ability to remember the snippets of information she would randomly chuck at him when reading. He knew more about babies now, then he did about himself, he was sure. He couldn't complain though, the information did come in handy at times and other times not so much.

He peered down at the celestial mage who was fast asleep on his chest, she'd let the last week catch up with her and now she was out for the count. She pushed herself to the limits when it came to being a mother, she was devoted for sure. She looked so radiant holding the tiny baby, when she cuddled him and kissed him, or when she spoke to him. There was this delicacy about her that she only reserved for Haru and Natsu had never seen anything so angelic before. She'd beam at the baby with the biggest grin on her face, a twinkle in her eyes as she sang him an old lullaby to soothe him to sleep or stroke his small tuft of hair and kiss him goodnight. She looked truly blissful with their baby in her arms, she had taken so well to being a mom, even with all the extra worry she carried.

Natsu carefully moved a few tendrils that had fallen into her face and smiled at her sleeping form. He thought back to the little kiss they'd shared, if you could really call it that. It seemed more of a gentle peck then anything else, but it was a start. She'd been the one to make the move this time, he needed her to go at her own pace, it was the safest way. As much as he'd wanted to just pull her in and claim ownership of her lips and mouth and any other place he so desired, her trust was more important. Their friendship meant everything to him and he wasn't about to risk that for some carnal impulse.

He frowned, the word friend didn't seem to fit right any more. She was his best friend and regardless of their relationship status, that would never change. It just felt like they were moving beyond the realms of friendship, although it seemed they had been more than friends for longer than both had actually realised. It'd been a slow, gradual change, but they still hadn't reached the next level. What even was the next level? Lovers he assumed. His heart started beating rapidly at the very thought, him and Lucy being lovers was something he'd wanted for long enough, and now he was sure Lucy wanted the same, so he supposed he was willing to wait just that bit longer for her, then there'd be no stopping him.

Snapping Natsu out of his thoughts, he heard a little whimper coming from the basket and leant over slightly to look at the tiny fella. Expecting him to be awake, but what Natsu saw melted his heart. Little Haru must have been dreaming about something good, because there was a small smile playing on his face. He remembered Lucy saying that babies couldn't smile until they were over a month old, and until then it was just practice, but it didn't look that way to him. Natsu couldn't stop his own smile from breaking out, his tiny baby was grinning in his sleep, practice or not, it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. And just like that it was gone, he kinda felt bad that Lucy had missed it but he was sure the infant would do it again, but maybe next time it would be a real one.

He sighed, he should probably get them all upstairs to bed, he was still tired himself and fancied snuggling with Lucy somewhere more comfortable. He was careful to stand as he managed to manoeuvre his way out of her hold, laying her back down onto the couch. Natsu picked Haru up in one hand, gently hushing him as he stirred and held Happy in the other before carrying them both upstairs, placing one in the crib at the bottom of their bed and the other in his hammock beside it.

He quietly made his way back downstairs to fetch Lucy, only to find she was sitting up, yawning sleepily. She looked a hot mess, her eyes were barely open, hair was all tangled from the position she'd been sleeping in and he was sure there was dribble down her chin. He had to try and contain his grin, she looked so funny.

"Where's the baby Natsu?" She spoke airily, desperately trying to keep her eyes open.

"He's in his crib. You look exhausted, maybe we should get to bed too." He said as he walked over to her and held out his hand. "Come on, we should try and get some sleep before Haru wakes up."

She nodded, rubbing at her sleep ridden eyes. She took his hand and followed him to the stairs. He felt a tug on his arm and looked back at her. She hadn't realised how unsteady she was on her feet and stumbled suddenly over her own foot, arms flailing, falling towards the floor again, but this time she never hit it. She could feel strong arms around her waist, holding her in place. Natsu turned her around and straightened her up, studying her face closely.

"Careful there, Lucy. I don't want you falling again and hurting yourself." He warned. It'd been one long week and they both needed to get to sleep.

"Now you mention it, my head is still hurting from earlier when I hit it." Natsu brought his arm up and clutched at the lump on her head, warming his hands a little, soothing the pain away and she sighed in relief. He was quick to sweep her off of her feet and turn back around. She squeaked as she was hoisted into the air. "What're you doing Natsu, I can walk!"

"Can you?" He chuckled, as he ran up the stairs and entered their bedroom, he placed her softly onto the bed, shrugging his clothes off and slipping in beside her.

"Night Natsu." She barely croaked out in her sleepy state. She was snuggled up to him in an instant, her breathing slowly evened out as she fell back to sleep.

"Night weirdo." He smiled at her, she really was such a weird one sometimes. But he was glad, it's what appealed to him about her in the first place.

It was still dark when she heard the little baby stir from his sleep. Lucy got herself up and walked over to the crib, looking down at the grumbling youngster. She smiled at him and picked him up, hoping he wouldn't start crying if she was quick enough. She looked over to Natsu who had remained asleep, which was unusual, he usually heard Haru stir before she did. She felt a little guilty about him always waking up first, she'd insist on taking it in turns with the night feeds, but sometimes, if she didn't wake, he'd leave her asleep and see to Haru himself.

Not wanting to disturb him this time, Lucy took Haru out of their bedroom and walked down to his. She changed his diaper before sitting down and feeding him his bottle.

"Take it easy little man, you'll make yourself sick!" She whispered.

He would always drink his milk too quickly, it was like he was starving all the time. Were they not giving him enough? He never cried when he finished the bottle, so that must be a good sign? Was it the powder they were feeding him? Maybe they should try something else and see if that would help? She could feel herself getting more and more worked up the longer she thought about it.

Trying to rid herself of such thoughts, she smiled at Haru, who was quietly enjoying his milk. Even in the darkness of the room, the moonlight would bounce off his wide eyes and make the beautiful blue even more dazzling. Lucy would often find herself looking into his cerulean hues, they were so bright and innocent, yet they'd witnessed so much already. Not that he would ever remember any of it, but he'd still lived through it and that was enough to want to keep him safe.

Lucy pulled the empty bottle from his mouth and placed it down beside her. As carefully as she could, she brought him up to lay on her chest so she could wind him and settle him back down to sleep. As he lay there, his chubby cheek resting firmly against her bare skin, right where her heart beat was, she lightly started tapping his back and began to sing a quiet tune to him to help him drift off.

"Baby mine, don't you cry…" She began, trying to keep her voice as low as possible, so she didn't disturb Natsu or Happy. "Baby mine, dry your eyes…"

It was an old lullaby her mother would sing to her as a child, it would always send her off to sleep, it was so soothing and calm and it seemed to have the same effect on Haru. She'd sung it to him a few times now and he would always fall asleep before the song finished. She continued to sing, memories of her own childhood playing out in her mind, the happy moments from when her mother was still alive.

"But your so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine…" She finished.

Frowning, she realised the baby was still awake, and he hadn't yet passed any wind. She couldn't lay him down now, or he'd end up bringing it all back up. She held him out in front of her to make sure he wasn't in any distress, she couldn't see anything wrong, so why was he so wide awake?

And it was in that moment she found out the harsh truth. Within seconds, Haru retched and she was covered in baby vomit and it smelt rancid. She could feel bile gurgling in her own stomach as she tried to not breathe in the smell. It was everywhere! All down her front, in her cleavage, on her face, and probably in her hair too. Luckily, the baby didn't have a drop on him, he'd projected it all at her. She looked at him with horror all over her face, but managing to keep her cool. She wasn't angry at him or anything, just shocked by how much had come out of such a little person.

"Was mama's singing that bad, huh?" She tried to smile at him, but it was starting to congeal on her skin and it made her feel all sticky and gross.

"I wouldn't say it was bad, I liked it, but I couldn't say the same for that smell!" Natsu said as he appeared in the door way, nose covered with his scarf. "Whatcha doing in here?" He asked curiously. He was sure he put Haru to bed in their room last night.

"Natsu! I'm sorry I didn't mean to disturb you, I was trying to keep the noise down so you didn't wake up!" She gasped, not expecting him to be standing there. Her eyes locked on to his alluring half naked form. Wait! He'd just said he liked her singing, did that mean he'd been listening? "You heard my singing?! I thought you were sleeping? How long have you been standing there?"

"Not that long, I heard some of it as I woke up and then came to find you, although, with a smell that strong, it wasn't hard." He said, grinning at her, she looked pretty awful and was in need of a long shower. "Was he guzzling again?"

"Like always! It makes you wonder if we're feeding him properly. I've read so much on feeding newborns, but the information on bottle feeding is limited, nowhere really explains how best to do it. I guess It's not really the preferred method of feeding infants, but it's our only option." She blurted. The worry from earlier had still been playing on her mind and she'd just rambled it all out to Natsu.

"Hold up Lucy! Why don't you go have a shower first and we can talk about it once you're more comfortable?" He could see this was something that had been troubling her and if it helped by talking to him about it, then he would listen. He walked over to her and took the baby out of her arms and tucked him into his. His grin returned as he held his nose to emphasize his distaste, "And because you stink!"

Glowering at him, Lucy shoved the fire breather out of the way playfully, quickly making her way to the bathroom to take a shower. He chuckled as he watched her leave the bedroom. He heard a little gurgle coming from the small bundle and looked down. He didn't realise how bright eyed the infant was, he didn't look like he was going to be sleeping anytime soon. Usually, Haru would fall asleep as soon as he'd finished his milk, but Natsu imagined being sick was quite the unpleasant experience for the little guy, one the dragon slayer was all too familiar with.

"Puking isn't fun, is it? You know, daddy gets sick whenever he goes on anything that moves. I feel your pain, buddy!" Natsu said softly as he cuddled the little baby close to him.

He walked back into their own bedroom and sat on the bed with him, the early morning sun had slowly started to rise, it could be seen clearly from the bedroom window and was beginning to light up the room. He placed the baby down on his back, against the pillows and laid down on his side next to him. He watched as Haru's arms and legs jerked everywhere and his eyes were wide taking in his surroundings. It was fascinating to watch his two week old son make sense of the world.

"Are you feeling better now, Haru?" Natsu asked, leaning in closer so the infant could see him. "You're so lively this morning! Maybe mommy and daddy should take you to see everyone at the guild later? Would you like that?" His face dropped suddenly, as if remembering something he'd tried to put to the back of his mind.

Knowing he couldn't run from it forever. They would have to go to the guild anyway at some point. They were slowly running out of Jewels and as much as he didn't want to leave Haru to go on a job just yet, it was something that needed to be done. He'd have to find a way to bring it up with Lucy, he wasn't sure how she would take leaving the baby for the first time especially with everything else she seemed to have on her mind.

He knew the guild would take care of Haru while they were gone, that wasn't the issue. The problem was being separated while Haru was so young, he was still getting use to his new life with him and Lucy, it'd been over two weeks now and Natsu felt that just hadn't been long enough. He loved going on missions with Lucy and Happy and taking in Haru hadn't changed that, he just couldn't wait for the day where they could all go on adventures together.

Unfortunately, he had no elaborate plan this time to surprise Lucy with, he didn't have 'life time savings' or anything like that. Now he wished he did, it would've been super helpful with their current situation. He also knew Lucy wasn't any better, especially when she had all that rent to pay. It was funny to him considering her background, how bad she was with money, she never seemed to have any. He wondered if her finances would be better now that she didn't have bills to pay?

Natsu, not wanting to dwell on that topic any more, looked at the baby beside him and smiled. It would all be worth it really, when they had Haru to always come home to. He pulled the baby into his bare chest and placed his warmed hand onto his belly and gently moved it in circular motions to see if it would send the little one off to sleep. He looked down in amusement at the infant who was struggling to keep his eyes open. It was catching, as the fire mage felt his own eyes slowly shut and within seconds both had fallen asleep, father and son cuddled up to one another.

When Lucy entered the bedroom, her heart felt like it was going to explode. The way Natsu was cradling Haru reminded Lucy of how a dragon would protect it's treasure. The baby was snuggled in to his father's hold, arms splayed out next to his head, with Natsu curled around him. It was just adorable! He really was an amazing dad to their son, she couldn't have asked for more. After ogling for longer than she'd meant to, she quickly sorted herself out and slipped carefully into bed on the other side of Haru. Curling up to them both, she hoped she might get a few extra hours sleep.

"That smells better." She heard Natsu mumble, he opened his eyes to look at her. "Did you still want to talk, Luce? I'm all ears!"

"Well, I just can't seem to find any information on how to bottle feed correctly and whether we're doing it right." Lucy said quietly, matching Natsu's volume. She did feel better after a shower, but her worries were still prevalent. "Breastfeeding is the only thing that comes up. I know that it's better for babies and it helps with bonding, but it's not available to us, obviously."

"That's not really the problem though, is it?" He understood now. It wasn't really about the feeding or the bonding, they were just fragments of a much larger problem. One that had been slowly eating away at her over the past couple of weeks.

"No, I guess not. I've tried to ignore it and tell myself I'm just being silly, but it just doesn't go away. I want to be a good mom and do what's best for him, that's all." She whispered, looking down at the sleeping baby, no longer able to meet Natsu's intense gaze. It shocked her at how quickly he was able to read her, she was convinced he knew her better then she knew herself sometimes.

"Lucy, when Haru is old enough to understand, he's not going to care who brought him into the world or how you fed him." He moved closer to her and put his forehead against hers, Haru nicely wedged in between them. "When he looks at you, he's going to smile at the person that gave him the life he has. The woman that gave him a home, and a family, all because of one selfless decision to call him your own. He'll see his mom and that's the way it should be."

"Thanks Natsu, but you're forgetting one thing. One vital thing that shouldn't be ignored." She said smiling sweetly at him.

"And what's that?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"You. We're in this together remember? I don't tell you enough, but you really are the most incredible, doting father our son could've ever hoped to have. You're so protective and completely at ease with him, Haru really is a lucky little boy to be able to call you his daddy." She leant up and kissed Natsu's cheek, her smile never wavering, "Igneel would be so proud of you, Natsu." She moved back a little and placed her head back on the pillow and made herself comfortable, tiredness washing over her.

Natsu laid there for a moment just staring at her, he hadn't realised just how much he needed to hear her say that. It was so easy for him to just get on with day to day life, that he never took the time to think about his own feelings. Her words had brought on a wave of emotions he didn't even know were there, it'd made tears pool in his eyes and as he tried to blink them away, some dribbled down his cheeks. But he didn't mind, they were happy tears.

He couldn't stop himself from grinning, Lucy really was a beautiful person inside and out, she made him truly happy. He looked down at the slumbering infant between them, still snuggled up to his chest. Natsu smiled lovingly towards the little boy, Lucy was right, Igneel would have been proud of the life he'd made for himself. He wished, deep down that he could have met Haru, he would've been so happy for Natsu to have finally found a family of his own.

After a while of watching Haru sleep, he suddenly remembered what he needed to talk to Lucy about, maybe in this sort of mood she wouldn't take leaving the baby so badly. He tore his eyes away from Haru and looked back up to Lucy, about to call out her name when he realised she was fast asleep. He quirked his lips, and sighed. He guessed that was a conversation that would have to wait until later. Snuggling back down, he closed his eyes, allowing the sleep to finally take him. Hopefully, Haru would allow for a few more hours in bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So this took a little longer to come out, so sorry for that. The lullaby Lucy is singing is the one from Disney's dumbo if you hadn't guessed already, I just thought it was super sweet! I hope you enjoy!


	7. Forever Changed

It was early afternoon by the time the little family had left for the guild. Natsu, being a bit quieter than usual, still couldn't shake what had been playing on his mind all morning. Usually, he would talk to Lucy about anything, but this was unknown territory. He didn't want to upset her, but this was going to end badly, he could just tell.

They hadn't discussed work since returning with Haru and he just didn't know what to do about it. His head was spinning from all the thinking and it was making his stomach churn. Stress was something he use to just pass off with his act now, think later tactic, but now he had others to consider. He'd gladly take on a hundred Acnologia's then have to think about all of this, he was better with actions.

Speaking of, fighting was an excellent stress reliever, what a great way to clear his head. He knew exactly what he was going to do once they reached the guild. He hoped Gray would be there so he could punch seven colours of shit out of him and then anyone else who was willing. Within minutes of arriving, Natsu had spotted Gray, ran over to him and swung the first punch and the rest was history.

Lucy shook her head at the fire breather's antics and chose to stay out of the way. She walked over to the bar and sat with some of the other girls who also hadn't joined the mayhem. Haru had woken up from all the noise and was being passed from person to person, all commenting on how well he was doing. Happy as Lucy was to hear all of the nice compliments about the baby and what a good job her and Natsu were doing, she wasn't really paying attention, too busy watching Natsu be beaten and scolded by Erza.

It sounded silly, but Lucy felt a little strange without the fire mages company. They had spent the last two weeks with each other and she'd gotten use to his constant presence, to the point where she missed him being near her. It was nonsensical, there he was as clear as day, and yet she felt so distant from him.

She could see that their friendship was slowly evolving, they had shared many moments recently with each other that wouldn't be considered friendly, the hand holding, the cuddling, the kissing, it had all become very real once they'd started living together.

There was only one thing missing though, because people just kept interrupting them. She wished she could have kissed him properly last night before Happy, yet again, ruined it all. His lips had felt so good on hers, she could only imagine what they would feel like on other parts of her body…

"See something you like?" Mira giggled as she happily watched the spirit mage ogle the dragon slayer. "Or do I really need to ask?"

"Huh? Oh, I was, er-" Snapping out of her lust filled thoughts, with the biggest blush on her face and little sweat droplets forming on her brow. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said dismissively, turning to face them directly.

"Sure. Is that what you tell yourself when you're cuddled up to him? Or cook him dinner? Or when you sit in his lap and kiss him?" Cana wiggled her eyebrows and laughed at poor Lucy's mortified face.

"What?! Who told you all of that?!" Lucy cried out. She couldn't hide the horror from her voice. Thinking about it for a moment, she didn't really need to ask who'd told them, it was kinda obvious and she was going to kill him.

"So it is true? I knew it! A certain little blue birdy told Mira and naturally everyone now knows." Levy sniggered. Lucy couldn't believe how quickly information passed through the guild, especially where the 'blue birdy' and she demon were involved. He'd only arrived at the guild not minutes before they had.

"Guys, I'm not sure what Happy told you but I think you're mistak-"

"So what was the kiss like?" Levy interrupted, ignoring Lucy's obvious uneasiness.

"W-We didn't ki-" Lucy stuttered, why was it so hard to speak all of a sudden? She'd started to sweat profusely, what if Natsu overheard? How could she face him then, or anyone for that matter?

"You guys are too cute!" Lisanna blurted in her enthusiasm, not listening to Lucy either. "I think Natsu should propose to you and you can both just get married already."

"You'd look gorgeous in a wedding dress, Lucy. I have plenty to choose from." Erza added as she walked over from the brawl she'd just put an end to.

"G-Guys, You're getting too carried away! I'm not getting married and what Happy saw yesterday isn't what you think, it was just a peck, that's all." Lucy interjected, noticing the disappointment on her friends faces. She couldn't hide the fragility in her voice, she wanted them to leave it be now.

Wendy gasped and went bright red herself at what she was hearing, "Oh my, that's still a kiss though isn't it?"

"Well, it's not the type of kiss the others are thinking about because I've never actually done that before." Lucy said quietly, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth.

"Hold up! You've never kissed anyone? Not ever?!" Cana yelled in her shock. All of the girls turned to her, dumbfounded by the blonde's confession. "But you've had boyfriend's though, right? Surely you must have done something with them?"

"I haven't had a boyfriend before either. I've only ever been on a few dates that's all, and they've always ended badly." With no thanks to Natsu she might add.

Lucy could feel her embarrassment bubbling at the surface about to spill over, starting to fiddle with the hem of her top as she looked away from all of their surprised faces. She knew they were just shocked by what she'd accidentally told them, but it was something she felt very sensitive over. She had spent so long yearning for Natsu that she'd not bothered to look elsewhere. Was it so wrong to only want one person?

"Even Juvia has kissed other guys and had boyfriends before, but that was before she met her darling Gray and now we kiss all the time, amongst other things." Juvia beamed, triumph evident on her face.

Well, that proves it then, even Juvia, who was infatuated with Gray, had been with others before. Lucy hadn't realised how far behind she was when it came to romance or sex. Was she really the only one? What about Natsu? She felt a pang of jealousy at the thought that even he had been with other girls before, and yet it almost seemed stupid because he wasn't one to overly show any interest in the opposite sex. It'd only been recently that he'd started talking about it, and even then it was still far and in between.

It almost seemed funny that she could imagine him being fiery in the bedroom, she thought of that quite often, yet she couldn't see him being all lovey dovey with someone, or doing the romance thing at all. He was a doer rather than a thinker and tended to act on impulse, so it was a possibility that the mood had struck him on occasion and he'd acted upon it. It made her feel a little sick just thinking about it, that was a side to him that was shut off to everyone and she didn't know whether it was on purpose or just through lack of interest.

Why was he so damn confusing? Had there little moment yesterday been an impulse of his as well, or had he actually wanted to? She just wanted to know how he felt about her and whether she was wasting her time.

Confronting him directly about it was an option, he wouldn't be able to hide then. But could she? Knowing there was a chance that he didn't share her feelings and that would break her heart. However, she also knew that if she didn't confront him, then she would forever be stuck in limbo, forever wondering whether the person she'd fallen for, would ever want her in the same way. And if he did, she couldn't stop the naughty images of them both from re-entering her head, the very thought was making her hot and bothered.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled to get her attention, but she hadn't answered. Her face was flushed and she was lost in some sort of trance. He lowered his face to hers and studied her glazed over eyes. He smirked, she was obviously thinking of something heated. "Feeling a little hot there, Luce? You shouldn't be thinking of such things in public."

Her head snapped up to his, eyes widening at his words. If her face wasn't already flushed, it was almost on fire now. She tried to speak, say something but her mind had been frazzled. Why did he keep doing this to her? She was struggling enough as it was.

"Natsu! What are you saying?!" She shrieked, horror in her eyes as she looked around to see if anyone had heard, which of course, they had and were sniggering amongst themselves.

Unfortunately, that'd included little Haru too, who'd been frightened awake from her outburst. Natsu noticed him start to whimper and wriggle, so he reached out for the little guy to take him from his mother and held him to his chest. He sat down on a stool and rocked the baby, hushing him gently until he calmed down again.

"Lucy, I was kidding, what's got your panties in a twist?" Natsu asked, a little concerned at her reaction. Surely that couldn't have gotten her this worked up? She looked like she was about to melt with the amount of sweat on her forehead.

"N-Nothing, er, I-I need air…" She muttered, avoiding Natsu's gaze the entire time. There was too much going on in her head right now and it felt like she was suffocating.

Her body seemed to have a mind of it's own as it shimmied off the seat and made its way outside. The air felt thick and stuffy, like she was being choked by all of her conflicting thoughts and Natsu teasing her really wasn't helping with that, not that that was his fault. Still, as if on autopilot, her body took her away from the guild, she wasn't really sure where she was going, but the cool breeze was starting to calm her down at least.

Meanwhile, Natsu, still sat at the bar with little Haru cooing softly in his arms, couldn't stop staring at the great doors that Lucy had just walked out of. What was all that about? Had he upset her? Because he hadn't meant to, he always teased her but it never meant anything. Surely, what he had said couldn't have been the reason for her to walk off like that. He turned to the guys that were still sat at the bar.

"What the hell just happened? What's wrong with Lucy?" He said, directing it at anyone who wanted to answer.

"Oh Natsu, you really are dense sometimes. Isn't it obvious?" Lisanna said, smiling at him.

"Isn't what obvious? I don't get it!" He replied, why couldn't they just tell him?

"Way to go Flame brain, now look what you've done!" Gray taunted as he walked over to stand by Natsu, a smirk present on his face. "I don't know how Lucy puts up with you."

"What I've done?! You're lucky I'm holding my son or I'd be beating your stupid face in right about now." Natsu spat back. He couldn't be bothered with Gray's smart ass, he was too confused and focused on Lucy. Was he really the problem here? It must've been something else and maybe what he'd said had made it worse? Lucy got flustered often, but that was never a reason for her to leave for no reason, she usually got over it pretty quickly, unless... "This isn't just my fault, what were you guys talking about before?" He realised then, it seemed to be what they always talked about. His and Lucy's relationship was always a hot topic and they tended to take it too far with Lucy sometimes, but for her to react like that, it must have been something personal.

"We were talking about Lucy's sexual escapades. Or lack thereof, I should say." Cana added, already on her way to finishing her third barrel of alcohol. "Poor girl, doesn't know what she's missing!"

"So it wasn't just me!" He stared accusingly towards the group who'd pointed their fingers at him. "But why were you talking about that?" Natsu asked, rolling his eyes. He knew it was something of that nature, but why did they always have to pick on Lucy about it?

"We were just having a little fun but she stopped talking after admitting something and the conversation ended there." Levy started, she felt a little bad for Lucy and how they had reacted to her confession.

"Then you came over and said that, which I imagine was the icing on the cake. Not that you could've known that, of course." Mira finished, she hadn't meant to upset Lucy, she'd just got a little carried away in her excitement.

"Admitted something?" Natsu asked, brows furrowed. Had something happened to her? He'd always been acutely aware of bastards who thought they had a right to touch Lucy, but he took care of them with great pleasure. "What did she tell you?"

"I'm surprised you weren't listening, even I heard them talking and I wasn't even trying to. They weren't being quiet about it." Gajeel walked over with a twin in each arm and stood next to Levy.

"Is someone gonna to tell me what was said? Or are you just going to keep wasting my time, when I should be looking for Lucy?" He was starting to get frustrated now, like he didn't have enough on his mind without them going round in circles.

"We were teasing her about her closeness with you, Natsu, and it went too far." Juvia admitted, even she felt bad now that she had said it out loud.

"And to shut us up she said that she'd never been romantically involved with anyone before and it shocked us. We should have said something, but we didn't." Lisanna said quietly, they had been so excited by what Happy had told them, they hadn't considered Lucy's feelings. "We're sorry, Natsu. We weren't trying to make her feel bad about it. We wouldn't knowingly upset Lucy."

"It's my fault Natsu, I told Mira about what I saw when I came home yesterday and I think it got a little out of hand." Happy came over to Natsu and stood in front of him, with his head down, feeling a little silly now for saying such things.

"We're all to blame, not just Happy. We were so excited and shocked we thought that you'd both finally got together or something." Mira finished, she wished she'd been more sensitive to Lucy's feelings now.

Natsu let out a puff of smoke, and sifted his hand through his hair, completely exasperated. A reaction like that would make anyone feel self conscious, let alone someone like Lucy. It was something she'd always been private about and he was at a loss over how to solve it. She always got flustered if anyone ever brought it up so he never asked, wanting to save her from the embarrassment. It was a delicate and fragile subject for her and he respected that, but these girls seemed to lack a filter and it would often lead to overly personal interrogations.

Natsu didn't really understand why it was such a big deal whether she'd been with someone or not. What she had or hadn't done before was up to Lucy, it was in the past, and as long as she was safe, he didn't care. She'd always been very innocent minded so maybe those things meant more to her? He needed to get to the bottom of this, so he stood up and started to walk towards the main door.

"I guess I should go fix this then?" He exhaled, no longer in the mood to engage with them about it any longer. Why couldn't they just keep their mouths shut? How was he supposed to bring up what he needed to talk about with her, when she was already heightened from this? He loved every single one of his friends, but they could really stick their foot in it sometimes.

He walked out of the guild and took in a deep breath, he hoped Lucy wasn't angry with him for what he'd said, and would let him speak to her at least. He sniffed at the air to try and catch a whiff of Lucy's scent and started to walk in the direction she'd gone.

"Let's go and find mama! I think I know where she's gone." He smiled at the little baby who was resting his head on his fathers shoulder, his wide blue eyes staring deeply into Natsu's green ones.

Seeing that sweet face always managed to make Natsu smile, no matter how bleak the situation, Haru seemed to brighten everything up. Looking forward again, he kept walking, eventually turning a corner and entering Strawberry Street. There she was, sat on the wall with her legs dangling over the canal. It was late afternoon now and the sun was getting lower in the sky, making the blue water glisten. He walked over and perched himself next to her, keeping silent for a moment.

"You found me then? I was wondering when you'd show up." Lucy said, not taking her eyes off of the water. "Did they bombard you with ridiculous questions as well?"

"Not really." He said simply, he really wasn't sure how he was meant to talk about this with her, maybe he should just let her take the lead.

"Figures, they never do with you. Being so shielded means people learn not to bother." She said, with a slight sting in her voice, not directing at him, but at the situation in general.

"Shielded? What do you mean?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't understand what she was trying to imply.

"Nothing Natsu. Sorry, it's not you I'm annoyed with. I'm not really annoyed with anyone, other than myself for being so immature. I don't know why those things get to me so easily, but they do. I'm an adult, I should be able to talk about adult things without turning into a complete mess." She sighed and finally looked over at him and gave a half smile, then turned to Haru, relaxing a little as she reached out to stroke his hair.

"Maybe, you're just not ready for those sorts of things, but that doesn't make you immature, Lucy, it's not for everyone. It'll come in time if that's what matters to you." He knew it would take her longer, but that was why he was willing to wait for her.

"But I want to be ready…" She said quietly. "Don't you ever want that, Natsu?"

"I didn't use to, it never interested me. But becoming Haru's father changed that, he opened my eyes to all sorts of possibilities that I'd never considered before." Natsu brought the baby down into his lap and smiled at his big wide eyes, he felt Lucy lean in and lay her head against his shoulder. It was in times like this he realised, he could never want anything more than the little family he'd made for himself, and what a beautiful thing it was to experience it with his best friend. "Like having my own family and being with someone I want to share that with."

He turned his head to face her, locking onto her eyes as she brought her own head up. Lucy felt her heart start to thump harshly against her chest, was he trying to tell her something? Was she that someone? Or was she misreading it again? No, she didn't think she was. His eyes were piercing into hers with so much emotion it was almost shattering. Never in a million years did she think Natsu would speak so openly with her, but then she'd never actually asked him. So maybe he wasn't hiding anything, she was just incapable of reading what he'd been trying to tell her all along.

"Me too, Natsu. I think it's also why it bothers me so much when people pry, because I've only ever had eyes for one person. Why would I look elsewhere when all I need is right here in front of me?" She reached out, placing her hand onto his cheek and caressed it with her thumb, giving him her sweetest smile.

It surprised her that for once she didn't feel embarrassed to say that to him, in fact she felt empowered. The way he was looking at her made her stomach do back flips, but this time she didn't want to shy away from it, she wanted to run with it and see where it would take her.

Natsu smiled softly at her, he felt completely at her mercy. Was this the moment he'd been so desperately waiting for? He'd just told her something he'd never told anyone, what else could he say to make her realise? He couldn't look away from her big brown eyes, they were hypnotising. She was the sweetest person he'd ever met and her beauty couldn't be tamed by words. In that moment, her entire being was glowing, blending with the evening rays and she looked utterly breathtaking.

She leaned in, nothing was going to stop her this time. With new found courage, she brushed her nose up against his, and opened her mouth ever so slightly as her eyes slowly began to close. Natsu could feel the blood pumping in his ears as he watched her come closer, her beautiful brown eyes shimmered before they shut completely. He brought his free hand up to rest under her ear with his fingers tangling into her hair and tilted his head slightly. He moved ever so slowly closer to her, waiting to receive her mouth with his.

"Kiss me, Natsu." She whispered against him and that was all he needed before he connected their lips in a sweet kiss.

He pressed delicately against her, her lips were like nothing he'd ever felt before. They moulded perfectly to his and her scent was intoxicating, making him want to delve deeper, but he wouldn't, not yet. He wanted Lucy's first kiss to be special because it mattered to her and that's exactly what it was, soft and gentle. It was all the things Lucy had hoped for as her first experience and she couldn't believe it was with Natsu, the man who had stolen her heart. They remained like that for a few moments and after revelling in each others warm touch, they pulled apart.

Breathing harshly, Lucy's face split into a wide grin, her eyes crinkling at the corners as they were forced shut from her elation. She couldn't believe it, after so many failed attempts and worrying over nothing, they'd finally kissed and it had felt amazing.

"Why did we wait so long to do that?" Lucy beamed. She moved back slightly, wanting to see his face more clearly.

"That wasn't a one time deal, Lucy, we'll need to make up for lost time." A sly smile creeping on to his face, expression turning from soft to something a little more hungry as he glared at her like something he could devour.

Lucy felt almost intimidated by his stare, he was so hot and fiery, she could only imagine what he'd be like as a lover. She felt a spark shoot straight down to the area between her legs as she thought of all the things he might do to her. This time she couldn't help the blush rise up her chest and neck the longer he looked at her like that.

"Luce, you're blushing again. You really should save those kinda thoughts for the bedroom." He smirked at her, she'd always leave herself open for teasing. As much as he wanted to give in to his (and her) desires and consume every last inch of her body this second, right where they sat. He didn't feel that was overly appropriate whilst their son was present and still awake.

"Natsu! There are innocent ears present!" She squeaked, blush now taking over her entire body and it wasn't helping that he was obviously trying to stifle a laugh.

"Come on, Luce. It's getting late and Haru needs to go to bed soon." He turned around and stood up, reaching out his hand to her. The sun had disappeared from the sky now, with only the moonlight to guide their way. Neither mage could control their beaming smiles as they made their way home.

Once reaching their house and going inside, Lucy took Haru from Natsu and went upstairs to their bedroom to change him and began to settle him as she sat on the bed. Natsu had come up not long after with a fresh bottle of milk for him. He stayed in the doorway, out of view, for a moment and listened to Lucy speak softly to the little one. He watched her lean back on the pillows with Haru resting on her stomach as she stroked his back.

Haru, seeming a little unsettled, was grunting as he tried to get comfortable. Lucy (and Natsu) watched in amusement, with grins plastered on both of their faces as he wriggled around on Lucy's stomach, slowly climbing up towards her chest. This was something she had read about in her many baby books. Small baby's would attempt to climb the mother's body to latch on and feed, although it surprised her the instinct was still there considering he'd been bottle fed for the last two weeks.

He was still very small so he struggled to move his weight around, well that's what they thought until he suddenly lifted his head to move it. Lucy's eyes widened like saucers as she watched him do it again. It wasn't elegant or delicate, plopping it back down onto his mother as he jerkily moved to face where Natsu was standing. Natsu walked over, making his presence known and knelt down beside the bed so that he was eye level with the little boy, bringing his face closer so that Haru could focus on it.

"Did you see that Natsu? He climbed up me and lifted his head!" Lucy beamed whilst trying to remain calm for Haru's sake, it was still his bed time after all.

"You bet I did!" A grin pierced his face as he continued to watch the tiny fella. Bringing his hand up to stroke his chubby little cheek. "What a strong boy you are!" It was such a little thing, but Natsu couldn't have been prouder of how well his son was doing. He stayed there for a while longer, cheering the baby on as he made his way up.

Haru had reached his mother's chest and had started rooting, another thing she had read about. Lucy was amazed by how much such a tiny baby could do, it was so damn cute, but he was definitely hungry.

"I'm sorry baby, you're not going to find anything in there." She couldn't contain her giggles as they wracked her body. She quickly held onto Haru so that he didn't fall off as she sat up and laid him down in her lap. "But daddy has something yummy for you."

Natsu stood up, chuckling to himself at the baby's desperate attempt to feed and sat down next to Lucy, handing her the warmed bottle. Haru opened his mouth eagerly and started guzzling, like always. They cuddled up to one another and watched the baby feed for a little while.

"That's one little milestone reached, he'll be walking and talking before you know it." Lucy whispered, feeling a little sad at the prospect of Haru not being this little forever.

"Don't wish it away, Luce. We should just enjoy it while he's still so small." Natsu said. His mood instantly soured as his words reminded him about what he'd been needing to tell her all day, he guessed now was a good a time as any. "When we go downstairs, I need to talk to you, Lucy."

"Is everything okay, Natsu?" She suddenly felt a little worried, starting a conversation with those words never ended well. Her mind was running wild with all the possible things he might say and naturally she came to one conclusion. Her eyes widened, as she snapped her head up to his. "Is this about the kiss?!"

"Why would it be about that?" Raising and eyebrow in confusion. He chuckled at her pink dusted cheeks, only she would assume he would have a problem with that. "You're weird, Lucy!"

Blushing a little at his words, Lucy nodded, feeling relieved. When Haru had settled down, they both went downstairs and sat on the couch together. Natsu looked so serious, it was very unlike him to look like that without good reason. He took her hands in his and let out a breath, this was going to be painful, he just knew it. But at least it was just the two of them, so if Lucy did get upset, he could handle it without any prying ears around.

"Lucy, I don't know how best to say this but…" Her mind was going into overdrive as he paused, he was staring so intently at her that she couldn't stop the adrenaline from spiking through her body and making it tremble. "We need to return to work soon, the money from our last job has almost run out." He waited for her reaction, watching her face morph from confusion to something he couldn't place.

"Yeah, I know. I've been thinking about it for a few days now and I thought if I tried to ignore it, then it would go away." Lucy sighed, she'd been dreading this, she didn't want to go back to work yet, she didn't feel ready. "I wanted to stay with Haru a bit longer before we had to go back, but apparently babies are expensive. Who knew?" She snorted, but her voice was void of mirth.

"Hold on a second! I've been going out of my head all day trying to find a way to tell you and you already knew?!" Natsu looked at her in disbelief. How stupid could he be? Of course she knew, this was Lucy, she was meant to be the sensible one here.

"Just because I knew doesn't make it any easier, Natsu. I don't feel ready at all to return yet, I don't want to leave Haru while he's still so small. It feels like we've only just come back with him and now we're leaving again." She looked down at the floor, fighting to hold back the tears in her eyes, quickly wiping them away.

"Honestly, I don't feel ready either, but no matter how hard it gets, we'll get through it." He spoke softly, circling his arms around her waist and pulling her against him, if she were to cry then he would be there for her, just like she was there for him. He leant down and breathed into her ear, "It's okay to be sad, Lucy."

As soon as her head touched his chest, the flood gates opened, everything she had suppressed came spilling out and she couldn't stop the tremors that dominated her body. Natsu hated seeing her cry, but this reaction was quite tame and easy to deal with compared to how he thought she was going to be.

"We've only had Haru for two weeks but I just can't imagine not being with him, he's such a vulnerable little baby that needs his mommy and daddy." She sniffled, holding onto Natsu like her life depended on it and in return, he held her tight, giving her all the time she needed to relieve herself of such worries. "I need him to be safe and I'm scared that if we leave him now something bad might happen."

"He will be safe, nothing is going to happen to him while we're gone, I promise." He brought his hand up to place it on the top of her head and began to comb through her silky hair with his fingers. "We knew when we took him in it was going to be harder, but we've come this far and he's doing so well compared to where he started."

"He is, even the guys at the guild were saying so. I love him so much, more than I ever thought possible and I want to do right by him. Which also means earning money to provide for him too. I just wish it wasn't so soon." The tears began to fall once more as she buried her head back in to his chest.

"He's a little fighter, Luce. It'll be worth it when you have him to come home to every time, he'll be your reason to keep going, no matter how hard it gets." Natsu felt his own tears spring to the surface, but fought them back. He loved Haru with his entire being and having to leave him was killing him inside, but he had to remain strong for Lucy. "Haru is a tough little boy, he's proven that every single day, so he'll be fine for a few days without us."

"He will. I know he will, thank you Natsu." Her voice barely audible as her breathing began to even out and her tears were slowing down.

It took her a few moments but she eventually and reluctantly separated from his hold and stared up at him. She smiled at him, a genuine happy smile that conveyed so much more than any words she could say. Her eyes were still glossy from crying and her cheeks tinted pink. Her mouth was partially open and her plump lips looked ever so enticing. Natsu was stunned once more by her beauty, it seemed no matter the situation, whether she was laughing or crying, she always managed to look so angelic and all he could think about was their earlier kiss and how much he wanted to do it again.

Lucy could see the want in his eyes, like she was something he would ravage until he was satiated. It made her heart leap out of her chest at the very idea of him being let loose, allowing his hot mouth to gorge on her body. It was just the two of them and even though she was nervous about how far he might go, she wasn't sure once they started whether she'd want him to stop.

Giving in to his desire, placing a hand on the nape of her neck and the other on her waist, he pulled her in, hearing a sharp inhale as he welded his lips onto hers in a searing hot kiss. The dragon slayer inhaled every last drop of her alluring scent and began to move his mouth, moulding their lips together again and again in a fluid motion, swallowing every little whimper that escaped her needy crevice. It was slow and passionate, savouring every last touch of her delicate lips.

Natsu, wanted to taste her, to explore her little mouth and so weaved his tongue into the kiss, which Lucy gladly accepted with her own. It felt like she was being scorched from the inside and it made her feel dizzy, making her moan into him. It was a noise that seemed to awaken the fire within his belly, he just couldn't get enough of this girl.

Without separating, he pushed her down, laying her back against the couch with his body hovering over her, his legs straddling hers and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. They were completely lost in each other, nothing could penetrate their little bubble of happiness.

When they finally broke apart, breathing harshly from the lack of oxygen, Natsu placed his forehead against hers and smiled. The smile took over his entire face and the only thing Lucy could do was mirror him. He opened his eyes to look at her flushed face, feeling a sense of pride as he mused over her swollen pink lips, even now he found it hard to stop himself from claiming them again.

"You don't know how long I've waited to do that." He whispered, still a little out of breath, but feeling completely elated at the same time.

"Me too, Natsu. I always assumed you weren't interested in me, but I guess you've proved me wrong." She chuckled at the silliness of it all, after all this time he'd wanted her just as much as she wanted him and she couldn't have been happier.

"In that case, I'll spend every day from now on showing you just how interested I am." He smirked, watching her face flush fifty shades of red as she realised what he was implying.

He leaned down, his lips were mere millimetres from her mouth, breath mingling with hers, "You're so beautiful, Lucy." He whispered before ravaging her lips once more. He could totally do this all night long if Lucy would let him.

"OH MY GOD! NATSU AND LUCY ARE MAKING KITTENS!" Both mages heads snapped towards where the noise had come from, making eye contact with the little blue feline hovering by the front door, giggling to himself.

Without thinking, Lucy pushed Natsu off of her in her temper, got up from the chair and ran after the cat, that had now shot back out of the front door, flying for his life as the blonde chased after him. Natsu walked over to the door and watched as Happy taunted Lucy whilst she screeched at him. He contemplated briefly whether he should go and save his little friend before Lucy unleashed hell upon him, if she ever managed to catch him that was. He was probably enjoying their little show more than he should have done and decided that Happy, for once, was on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again, they finally did it, several times actually :) Also, just a few little things to mention, I don't want anyone thinking I've tried to make out they were being mean to Lucy, because they weren't, they just got carried away. The story from now on will start to get a little more heated, it's the reason I rated it M in the first place, just in case you thought it was going to be all fluff (which it mainly still is), there is going to be a little bit of angst, but nothing too awful. I don't know how many chapters this story will eventually have, but it'll be quite a few more yet and lastly, I really hope I'm keeping them to character as much as possible, which can be difficult when they've never been in this sort of situation before. Thank you for reading and supporting! I hope you enjoyed!


	8. The First Mission

Lucy felt nauseous. She'd spent the better part of the morning worrying over whether Haru was okay and it was making her giddy. Gray and Juvia knew how to look after him, they'd been the one's to offer, yet she couldn't shake the worry that something might happen. What if he cried? Or became sick? Had she packed everything he needed? What if he got hurt? It was exhausting! She put her head into her hands to stop herself from hyperventilating. At this rate her head was going to explode.

The train was way too stuffy for her liking and it was making her feel faint. She'd opened the window as wide as it would go and greedily inhaled the cool air that filtered through. Hopefully, this journey would end soon, she wanted Natsu. He always calmed her down but he was currently out of commission, asleep on her lap after puking everywhere.

For once, he'd actually offered to get the train which had surprised Lucy at first, but she understood his reasons, and that's what made it all the more endearing. Natsu seemed to be maturing before her very eyes, choosing to get on the train, just to get this job done quicker, was only the start of it. Becoming a parent made you grow up, whether you wanted to or not, and Natsu was no exception.

It wasn't just with Haru he'd shown his maturity, it was with her as well. He'd kept to his word, every day since they'd shared their first kiss he'd showered her with affection, something she'd never expected from him. He didn't seem to be able to keep his hands to himself, which Lucy was totally fine with. But everything was still very safe and she had to wonder if he had any intention of taking it further, because she definitely did.

When the train finally came to a stop, Natsu was out of the door like a shot, hugging the grass beneath him, and he had the audacity to call her weird. "Are you done being an idiot?" She asked, looking down amused, with her hand on her hip.

"You don't understand how great this feels after being on that death trap!" He groaned, not taking any notice of the insult.

"Well, when you're finished we need to go check in somewhere and then we'll see this person about the job." Lucy said, holding out her hand to help him to his feet.

"Check in somewhere? Luce, I hate to tell ya but we don't have the money for that, it's why I brought an extra sleeping mat." He said, looking at her like she was the idiot now.

"What?! But I don't wanna sleep outside!" She cried out like a spoilt child.

"You're the one that wanted to stay at home for an extra two weeks, we had just enough money for the train tickets." He said, like it was obvious. It was true, Lucy had said it was because she wanted to wait for the right job, when in reality she just didn't want to leave Haru. "Don't worry though, I'll keep ya warm!" He smirked.

She blushed a little, "I guess that's a good enough compromise. I guess it'll be worth it because it pays so well!" The blonde exclaimed. Just before Natsu turned around, she pulled him to her, sporting a sly smile and yanked him down to her level. "Natsu, if you so much as look where you're not supposed to, I will do very bad things to you. Are we clear?" She said in her most sickly sweet voice. She brought her mouth to his for a soft, lingering kiss, as if to seal the deal. They needed every single Jewel that was being offered and Natsu had a habit of, well, destroying things.

"Yes, ma'am." He murmured, pulling away from her and grinning. Was it weird that he found Lucy threatening him kinda hot? He could get use to threats like that. The one's often made towards him, aka Erza's, weren't so alluring, more absolutely terrifying!

"Good! Now, let's see where we need to go." She let go of Natsu and reached into her bag, fishing out the request paper.

The job they had chosen seemed simple enough, it'd been the easiest request for the most amount of money on the board, meaning it shouldn't take too long. Mages were needed to rid a garden of pests that kept trying to steal some magical plants. It was safe, easy and good pay for not a lot of work. Lucy had been so pleased when she saw it, that she hadn't even run it by Natsu before presenting it to Mira.

"Apparently there's a mansion somewhere around here, it shouldn't be too hard to find." She said, taking Natsu's hand. Neither really knew where they were going but a mansion should be easy to spot, the area looked pretty small.

When they'd finally reached it, their mouths flew open at the sheer size of the estate, it looked like it went on for miles. Lucy felt a little nostalgic, it looked very similar to her childhood home, only much more grand. They walked up to the enormous doors and rang the bell, wondering what sort of person would live in such a huge place.

When the door finally opened, a young man had answered, probably in his late twenties, not much older than they were, he was suited and booted and looked quite important. Lucy assumed he must be some sort of business man, similar to her late father, they all looked the same. The man stepped out without saying a word and peered at the two, catching sight of their guild marks and smiled.

"You must be the Fairy Tail wizards I requested? Please do come in, my housekeeper will show you to the dining room where we can discuss everything. I'll be there in a minute." He gestured to an older woman, who they were meant to follow.

"Please follow me, Mr. Felix will be along shortly. He's a very busy man you see and has lots of clients to attend to." She said, smiling to Natsu and Lucy as they made their way down the huge corridors.

"Clients? What exactly does he do?" Lucy asked. Maybe he was famous for something?

"That'll all be discussed at dinner. Here's the dining room." The woman opened the door to reveal the biggest table either mage had ever seen, with a massive spread of food on top of it, making Natsu's mouth water. "We've laid out food for you, I imagine you must be famished after your long journey. Please help yourselves to as much as you'd like while you wait." The Housekeeper said before stepping back out of the door.

Just as Lucy was about to thank her, Natsu grabbed the blonde's hand and flew over to the table and started to dig in. "You're such an animal sometimes, Natsu." Lucy said as she watched him pour a whole plate of meat into his face. She never understood how he could eat so much, and where did he put all of it? The man was entirely muscle!

"We're broke so I'm stuffing myself silly!" He said as he chewed on god knows what. "Isn't that the white stuff you like, Luce?" He pointed to a pot filled with this thick, creamy substance.

Lucy chuckled at what he was pointing to and grabbed some 'white stuff' for herself, spooning it into her mouth. Yogurt, as it was more commonly known, was her absolute favourite. She plopped some fruit into it and dived right in until the entire pot was empty. Once they'd finished, the woman came in and tidied their plates away and in followed 'Mr. Felix' or whatever she said his name was.

"I do apologise, I had a client to see to, but I'm done now." He said as he sat down and poured himself a drink. "What do you call yourselves?"

"My name is Lucy and this is my partner, Natsu." She smiled. "Thank you for the food, it's very much appreciated!"

"You're welcome! My name is Felix and I'm a doctor. My husband and I specialise in medicinal magic and we grow specific plants that help in the healing of mages, like yourselves." He paused to take a sip of his drink.

"Awesome! We could use some of that with the amount Fairy tail gets into fights." Natsu joked, earning a deathly glare from Lucy, but the man chuckled at them.

"Yes, I've heard about Fairy Tail's reputation, but don't worry, you don't need to put on any airs and graces in front of me. I wouldn't have posted the job to your guild otherwise." Felix smiled at them both and watched them relax.

Natsu cleared his throat, and straightened himself up, "Er, so what's been going on then? What would you like us to do?" He asked as he stared at this Felix guy curiously.

"Well, it started about three weeks ago, my daughter was playing outside when she'd walked off towards the plant nursery. She's not really supposed to go in there but she's only young. Me and her Papa heard her scream and went running to see what'd happened. But when we got there she was huddled on the floor shaking and crying and the building had been ransacked."

"Poor thing, that must've been scary for her, did she see anything?" Lucy sympathised.

"We're certain she did, but when we ask she won't speak about it. It steals from us every night, regardless of how much we barricade the doors and windows, it manages to find a way in. I worry because without those plants we can't continue our work. I have many mages that rely on my help but our supply is dwindling." He looked down solemnly at the table, Lucy and Natsu could see that helping others meant a lot to him and they were more than willing to help him catch whatever it was reaping havoc on his livelihood.

"So you have no idea what's been stealing from you?" Natsu asked. Not that it really mattered, he'd burn it regardless.

"Unfortunately not, the only person that's seen it is my daughter, but it's too scary for her to talk about." Felix explained.

"Would it be possible for us to try and talk to her? With your permission of course." Lucy asked. If they could get the little girl to describe what she saw then they would be able to figure out a plan.

"You're more than welcome to try, but like I said she is only young so I'm not sure how accurate the details will be. I'll take you to her now, follow me." He said, standing and walking out of the door, with Natsu and Lucy following.

After what seemed like an endless maze of corridors, they entered into a children's play room. There, playing with her toys, was a sweet little girl, she couldn't have been much older than three or four. She looked over at Natsu and Lucy and giggled, bounding over with one of her toys to show it to them, taking a particular interest in Natsu and his crazy pink hair.

"Hey there kiddo. Whatcha got?" He said, plastering his signature grin on his face and crouching down in front of her.

"Amelia's teddy!" She beamed and gave it to him, while she ran back and retrieved another to give to Lucy.

Her father remained standing by the door as he watched his little girl play with Natsu and Lucy. They were trying to make her feel comfortable before they eventually asked her what she saw. Lucy had an idea of how to get the little girl to talk, it was all about compromise, but she just needed to time it right.

She picked up something that resembled a plant and showed it to the child, "Your Daddy grows special plants like this doesn't he?" Lucy asked. Amelia looked at the flower shaped toy before taking it into her own hand.

"Yeah! Daddy and Papa make magic people not sick any more." She smiled.

"Did you know that we're magic people? We've come to help your Papa and Daddy." Natsu whispered into her ear, like it was a big secret that only she was allowed to hear.

"You're magic?!" The little girl gasped, "Show me! Show me!" Amelia jumped up and down in pure joy, clapping her hands together.

Lucy chuckled at her enthusiasm and brought out the silver key to summon Plue, Amelia couldn't believe her eyes, she was in awe of the weird little, shaky thing. "Again, again!" She giggled, the bright smile never leaving her face.

"Alright then, watch this!" Natsu said, he laid his palm out and lit a small flame. He grinned as her mouth fell open in absolute amazement at Natsu's magic. Then, just for her, he turned the flame into a flower, then a star and then anything she requested, before lighting his entire hand up. "It's cool isn't it? You know I could set my whole body on fire, if I wanted."

"Wow, you must be really strong! Can you help Papa and Daddy with your magic?" she asked, still astonished by what just happened. "Amelia was in the nursery when the bad man took all the flowers. He saw her sneaking and said that she should never tell anyone or he'll get her when she's sleeping, but you can burn him with your fire."

Natsu and Lucy both looked at each other, concerned, and then back to where Felix was standing, who looked pretty shocked by what his daughter had just told them. How could someone be so cruel to a child? The two mages nodded at each other before looking back at Amelia, grinning at her, "Of course, we'll help them, you can count on us! I'll burn the bad man with my fire, then he'll be gone for good." Natsu said, watching her small face light up at his words, leaping up to give him a big hug, before returning to what she was playing with.

Natsu and Lucy stood up, waving at the little girl before leaving the room. They followed Felix back into a sitting room, settling on a couch opposite him. "Thank you for what you did there. She was refusing to talk to us but you managed it. You don't happen to have children yourselves?" Felix asked. Should he have asked that? Maybe it was too personal? About to apologise for the intrusion, but stopped as Lucy spoke up.

"Yes, we do actually. We have a son, this is our first time leaving him so it's been a little difficult, but it'll be nice to go home and see him when we're finished here." Lucy said quietly, smiling through glossy eyes as she thought about how much she missed her baby and how desperate she was to cuddle him. She wiped at her eyes quickly, "Sorry, I just miss him that's all." Natsu, feeling her discomfort reached over to take her hand, caressing it softly with his thumb.

"I understand, being a parent can be hard and you never really get use to it. In time, being separated from them gets easier but they'll always be on your mind. How old is your little one?" Felix asked, it was refreshing to speak to other parents for once.

"Four weeks now. We found him on a job at just a few days old, he'd been abandoned so we took him with us and then adopted him." Natsu said, pride emanating from his being. He rather liked telling people he was a dad now and best of all he loved talking about Haru, it made his heart feel full and all the more excited to go home to him.

"Wow, that's wonderful! It takes special people to do something so selfless, I'd say good luck to you both." Felix was in awe, what an incredible thing to do for a helpless baby, not everyone would be so kind. However, as much as he'd love to talk about their children all day, they had business to attend to. "Any way, what do you think now Amelia has spoken to you?"

"Well, it sounds like it's just one man. What I'm confused about is why this person is stealing those plants from you, unless they're a mage themselves or if they're not then they must be selling them?" Lucy pondered, it made perfect sense that someone would do that. They'd see this enormous house and think they could earn the same fortune by selling the plants for whatever price they wanted. "I think the only way to find out is to wait for him."

"I agree. Where are you staying tonight? I ask because the thief only seems to come when its dark out. We have a guest house next to the plant nursery and you're more than welcome to spend the night there, if that makes it easier for you? We can provide food and anything else you might need?" Felix offered, hoping they would accept so they could be there at the right time.

"You mean it? Hell yeah! That beats sleeping outside on the grass." Natsu cheered, that should cheer Lucy up.

"That would be amazing, thank you!" Lucy said, beaming over at Natsu.

Once they'd reached the guest house, it was already getting dark. Felix had told them that he would send some food over and would leave them to it. When both mages went inside, they couldn't believe their eyes. It was huge! Natsu was speechless, even their guest house was bigger than their home back in Magnolia.

Lucy instantly ran over and collapsed onto the bed, chucking her bags onto the table and sighed in relief. Natsu chuckled at her eagerness and walked over shortly after, crawling onto the bed, leaning above her so that their faces were level. He smirked down at her pretty face, "You didn't think I'd forgotten did you?" He said as he slowly came closer, watching her cheeks tint pink as he claimed her lips before she could say anything.

The kiss started off slow, but very quickly turned heated and needy. He'd been dying to get his hands on her all day and now it was just the two of them, he couldn't help the excitement build in his stomach. Lucy reached up and tangled her hands in his hair, pulling lightly, earning her a low growl from Natsu. The sound of his pleasure made her weak, there was something so animalistic about it. She wanted to hear it again and so forced her tongue into his mouth, whimpering into him from the hot wetness. What she'd give to feel that blazing tongue all over her sensitive skin, she could feel herself heat up at just the thought of it.

She loved that they did this now, it made her feel wanted and loved by him and that was an incredible feeling. Natsu was just so hot, it was hard to think straight once he got going. He pulled back and stared into her eyes with pure adoration, her swollen lips were always a feature he dwelled on, proud of himself for doing that to her. She brought her hand down to his neck and brushed over the scar there, making a shiver shoot through Natsu's spine.

"I don't think I'll ever get use to that." She said, reaching forwards and planting another soft peck on his lips.

"I'm certain you won't be saying that by the time we leave. Not with all this free time we have, just waiting around for some guy to show up." Natsu smirked, watching her face turn pinker then it already was as she bashfully looked away from him. She was too cute sometimes, how is it someone as sweet as Lucy could choose someone as hot-headed as him? He'd probably spend the rest of his life trying to figure that one out, but for now, being in her presence and receiving her undivided attention was enough for him.

"Are you just going to keep staring at me, Natsu?" She giggled, only stopping when his mouth attacked hers once more.

This time it was more intense and passionate, it was filled with so much raw emotion a simple kiss didn't seem to be enough any more, he wanted more and so did she. Just as he was about to reach down to her jaw, they heard a clatter and what sounded like glass shattering. It was apparent that even alone, something insisted on interrupting them and neither mage was impressed. Reluctantly stopping in his tracks, Natsu lifted his head and looked around for any intruders, sniffing at the air. His sensitive hearing picked up on footsteps coming from outside.

"I think our guy is outside." He said, leaning down and giving her one last kiss on the lips. "Come on, Luce. We'll have to finish this later." He smirked at her blush, then got up and ran over to the door, about to open it.

"Wait, Natsu! Don't just run into danger like that, we need to think of a plan, we don't know who our enemy is." She exclaimed, why did he insist on running head first into things all the time?

"Huh? Lucy, it's one guy! How hard can it be?" He didn't understand, what was the problem? It was simple; beat up bad guy, get paid then continue making out until they fell asleep. Job done.

Just as Lucy was about to retort, there was a huge explosion and even more shattering glass, then they noticed a faint glow of a flickering light coming in through the window. She bolted off of the bed and after Natsu, who'd already run outside, the entire plant house had been set ablaze. Lucy looked over and saw Felix running towards them, fear in his eyes as he gazed upon the devastation.

"It's on fire! What happened, is he here?!" He shouted at them as he came to a halt.

"Yes he is, but we'll find him, don't you worry." Lucy yelled over the crackling of the fire, pushing Felix away. "Stand back, Natsu will take care of the fire." and just like that, Natsu began to eat it, sucking it up until it had been put out completely, leaving just a charred shell of the building that was once there.

"Felix! Felix!" Someone yelled. They all turned to see another man, panic stricken, running over to them and clutching hold of Felix for dear life. "S-She's gone! Amelia is missing! She's not in her bed and I've looked everywhere but I can't find her. Oh god, what if he's taken her?!" He put his head against his husbands shoulder and began to tear up, while Felix looked at him in shock, dread settling in his stomach.

Natsu walked over, locking eyes with them both, "I promise we'll find her and bring her home to you." He then turned to Lucy, "He's nearby, I can smell him." He took her hand and they ran off in the direction in which the thief had gone.

They ran into a clearing that was surrounded by trees and bushes, the perfect place for an assailant to hide. Natsu came to a halt and let go of Lucy, sniffing at the air again. Lucy was quick to notice his unease as he whipped his head around to look for any movement.

"Is something wrong, Natsu?" Lucy asked, concerned at his serious expression.

He snapped his head to her, catching on to the worry in her voice and sighed, "The girl's with him, I can smell her too. But, it's his scent, I know it from somewhere." Natsu said quietly.

As she opened her mouth to reply, Lucy was suddenly dragged behind a large bush by Natsu. He covered her mouth with his hand and shushed her to keep quiet, whilst he listened to the footsteps that were quickly approaching. Natsu wouldn't usually hide, but that smell was throwing him off, he needed to know who it was first. He cautiously peered around the edge of the bush at the man who's face had been hidden by a hood. Whoever it was had tattered clothes and looked in need of a good bath.

"I know you're here, Fairy Tail, I've been watching you." The man provoked, trying to lure them out.

Natsu, about to jump out the second he mentioned the guild, was pulled back down by Lucy, who shook her head at him. Huffing in annoyance, he remained seated, for now. It was obvious the man didn't know where they were hiding, so for the time being they had the advantage.

"I saw you both get off the train earlier and so I followed you. What are the odds we should stumble across each other again? Have you come to ruin my life further?" He snarled. Natsu was watching him through the shrubbery, he still couldn't get a good look of his face and that voice, where had he heard it before? Who the hell was this guy?

"Come out and face me you cowards! Or I'll hurt the little girl, you wouldn't want that now, would you?" The man threatened, looking around for the two mages to appear from the trees, but neither did. "Very well, what do you think would happen if I... cut off a few of her fingers? How loud do you think she'd scream? Would you come out then?" He laughed maniacally like all of this was some sick joke to him.

Natsu and Lucy both looked at each other in disbelief, surely he was bluffing? Lucy felt bile come up into her throat, what a disgusting thing to threaten! Luckily, Natsu couldn't see the little girl with him, she was nearby though. He could hear her whimpering and could only hope that she was unharmed.

"No? Fine. Then what about… that little baby of yours? How loud would he scream?" About to laugh again, but was stopped abruptly as he felt himself being choked and lifted off of the ground by a very strong grip around his collar. Yet he still managed to smirk as he stared into the piercing eyes of a very pissed off dragon slayer.

"How do you know my son?!" Natsu bellowed, watching the man begin to struggle against his hold. In his attempt to free himself, the hood finally fell down from the guys head, revealing his face.

"How, indeed…" The man chuckled, his voice strained.

Taken aback, Natsu's eyes were like saucers as he stared into the eyes of none other than Haru's biological father. "It's you!" Natsu exclaimed, his grip tightening around the still smirking man's clothes, his anger returning tenfold. "Start talking! What're you doing here?!" He brought his other fist up and set it alight, this man would pay for what he'd threatened, but first, Natsu needed answers. "Speak! Or I swear I'll scorch that fucking smile right off your face!"

Lucy had taken it upon herself to retrieve the little girl while Natsu dealt with the aggressor. She was absolutely horrified by what he'd said, so much so it was hard to think straight, but she had to remind herself that no matter what, this was one man and Haru was safe at home. Gray and Juvia were powerful mages, they would protect him if anything were to happen.

Once she'd found the poor little thing, Lucy quickly checked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. Amelia recognised the blonde instantly and jumped into her arms, clinging on for dear life. Lucy tried to calm her down, but it was so heart breaking to see. She began to walk back to where Natsu was, stroking the little girls back as she wept into Lucy's shoulder.

She felt such empathy for the girl, maybe it was because she was now a mother herself, but seeing her in such distress held a lot more meaning then it once did. She could only imagine how Felix and his husband must be feeling, not knowing if their daughter was safe or whether she'd even return home, it must be utterly heart wrenching.

Once she'd reached the clearing, her eyes nearly shot out of her skull, her knees felt like they were about to buckle as she laid eyes upon the man that Natsu's fist was about to make contact with. He yelped out in pain and collapsed onto the ground, clutching at his painful, bloodied nose. Out of all the people it could have been, it had to be him, the man that'd knowingly left Haru to burn in that fire, the man that she never wanted to see or think about again.

Natsu looked over to Lucy, relieved to see that she'd found Amelia, but winced at the clear agony in her eyes from just being in this man's presence again. It must've brought back all of those dreaded worries and memories that she'd tried so hard to get over.

"Lucy, leave him to me, I've got this. Concentrate on Amelia, she needs you right now." Natsu said, trying to reassure her. Caring for the girl was a good distraction and that's exactly what Lucy needed.

Lucy nodded at him, but her eyes were glued to the groaning man on the floor. Her body had frozen in place and she couldn't get rid of the sick feeling in her stomach. She needed to collect herself, Natsu was right, Amelia needed the comfort of an adult, she'd been taken from her bed by the 'bad man' and that must have been so frightening for her. She stayed behind Natsu and sat down on a log, holding the little girl close, soothing her until she calmed down.

"How touching… So, how is the runt doing? Still alive I hear? Unlike my wife you failed to save." He spat the last bit, with blood pouring out from his nose as he looked up to Natsu.

"That's what this is about? You've got some nerve, the baby is none of your concern any more." Natsu sneered, what a pathetic excuse of a man, he was just about ready to singe every last hair on this weasel's body. "You left him to die, what kind of sick bastard does that to his own child?"

"That puny rat was good for nothing, he built a rift between me and my wife yet all he did was make her suffer. It was one complication after another, but I wanted to believe that by supporting her, everything would turn out alright. But it was made clear to me when she gave birth to such a feeble and weak baby, that I could never love it. He was so sickly and small, no son of mine would be so pathetic! But she chose the baby over me, so I walked away." He snarled, only resentment and bitterness with every word he spoke with no sign of compassion for the little one.

"Be quiet! I don't want to hear any more! How can you say such things? He just needed some extra attention which is exactly what we've given to him, because he deserves to be loved." Lucy shook her head in disbelief, as she listened to the man laugh at her words. What was he saying? She felt like crying but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction, not in front of him any way. Taking in a deep breath, she continued, "If you were so appalled by your own child, then why're you kidnapping other peoples? Why are you here?"

"My home was destroyed, remember? I had to get by somehow and those magic flowers I stole sold for a good amount of money, but I wanted more so I thought I'd kidnap the girl and hold her ransom. But you two have ruined my plans again." He said, slowly realising his mistake as he stared into the eyes of a very outraged and riled up Natsu. He felt all of his confidence leave him, he no longer had the little girl as leverage and no way out of the sticky situation he'd gotten himself into.

"Enough talking, I've heard enough of your crap!" Natsu shouted, "I should've done this the first time we met!"

He was struggling to comprehend how such an asshole like this guy, could produce something as sweet and good natured as Haru. It really brought home how glad he was that they'd found the baby when they did, because otherwise… well, it didn't matter now, this man was going to pay for everything.

The man instantly started cowering, reminiscent of his first meeting with Natsu. Suddenly all of his bravado from earlier had gone as Natsu stormed towards him, setting his entire body on fire. Lucy couldn't help but smile at how fiercely protective he was over their family, she felt her earlier fear fade, there was never anything to worry about.

Lucy tapped little Amelia on the shoulder to show her what Natsu had said he'd do earlier that day. Her eyes were wide with amazement, as Natsu used his magic to burn every last inch of the pathetic man until he was no longer conscious, tying him to a tree so the council could come and collect him.

"Wow, Natsu! You really did set that man on fire!" Amelia squealed from Lucy's arms, making the blonde giggle.

"I told ya I would and now the bad man will never come back." He grinned from ear to ear at her, ruffling her hair. "We should get you home, I bet your Papa and Daddy are worried about you?"

He looked to Lucy who smiled at him but he could still see the hurt in her expression, this was a totally unexpected turn of events and she would need time to run it through her head. He took her hand and they walked back to the mansion, breathing in the brisk air to cool themselves off. All of them needed a warm bed and a good nights sleep, they were exhausted both physically and mentally. However, now with the job completed, they could get paid and return home to Haru, and that was worth every single hardship they faced.

Amelia spotted both of her fathers and smiled excitedly at them, once being put down on the ground, she ran as fast as she could and flew into their arms, never wanting to let go. Natsu and Lucy watched as the little family were reunited and it was incredibly heart warming.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done! There isn't enough on this planet we could give to thank you for returning Amelia to us." Felix's husband said to them, unable to control the happy tears that slid down his face.

"Hey, don't worry about it, she's one brave little girl. The thief has been taken care of as well." Natsu said, pride emanating from him for being the one that defeated him. Although, he was a little disappointed that he'd not been a mage, all that talk and no substance. That was usually the case with people that wanted to take him on, even when they were mages, they very rarely stood a chance.

"I have your reward here actually, I wanted to give it to you now as a thank you." Felix said, passing the huge bag of money to Natsu.

"Whoa, you sure you counted this correctly? Seems a bit heavy!" Lucy rolled her eyes, typical Natsu and his blabber mouth!

"I doubled it, that's why it's heavier. You've been so kind to us all and you even befriended Amelia who I'm sure is going to be talking about you two for a very long time. She's going to miss you both dearly." Felix looked over to where his husband was standing with little Amelia in his arms, smiling and laughing. "You two have gone beyond what either of us expected and above everything you kept our daughter safe, for which I could never repay you for."

Now Lucy felt bad, he'd been so generous since their arrival that she didn't feel deserving of the extra money, but it would come in handy with Haru, that's for sure. "That's very sweet of you, but are you sure? You were offering a large amount as it is and now that your business is going down are you sure you want to double it?" Lucy asked.

"Don't worry about that, we'll get by. Family is more important, right?" Felix smiled at them before bidding them good night.

Natsu and Lucy returned to the guest house, smiles on both of their faces at the extra money. Now they wouldn't have to work for a while and would have all that free time at home with Haru, to watch him grow.

Lucy collapsed onto the couch by the window and sighed, today had been a mind fuck and that was putting it lightly. Natsu grabbed a water cannister from his bag and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed opposite her, not sure if she wanted to talk or be left alone to think. He took a few large gulps of liquid before chucking it to her, hoping it would refresh her somewhat. After what seemed like hours of staring into the abyss, she finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry I wasn't much help back there, when I saw who it was, I froze. I don't know what came over me." Lucy said, staring into her lap and avoiding Natsu's gaze.

"But you saved the girl, and you made sure she was okay, that's still helping Luce. Seeing that guy threw me off as well, I definitely wasn't expecting to see him." Natsu said, he understood how she felt, it was a shock, for sure.

"Is that really what jealousy and grief does? We've met some pretty awful people but there has always been some sort of reason behind their actions, but I'm struggling to understand his reasoning for despising his own child so much." Lucy finally looked up to Natsu, he looked so serious, this wasn't like him at all, it was probably troubling him just as much.

"There is no reason, Luce. We've all been through grief, he's obviously a very sick and twisted person, but in the end, he's the one missing out, not us. While he's lost everything, we've gained our little boy. Haru's what made us a family and that's something I'll be forever thankful for." Natsu said, he realised then just how much he truly missed his son. As nice as it was to go on a job again, he was ready to go home and he could see Lucy was too.

"I miss him too, Natsu." Lucy said quietly, smiling at him. He didn't even need to tell her what he was thinking, she already knew.

Natsu moved himself to sit next to her. Reaching out, he cupped the sides of her face in his hands with the most delicate touch, like she was some fragile piece of porcelain and gave her a half smile. She always wore her heart on her sleeve and tried to see things through the eyes of others, and he could tell it was affecting her that she couldn't do that this time, not with what that guy had done. But he admired her for it just the same, it was a quality she'd always possessed, one that'd attracted him to her in the first place.

He pulled her face in, grinning as his nose brushed ever so lightly against hers, "We have some unfinished business to attend to, Lucy." He wanted her so badly, especially after what'd happened, he didn't think he could wait much longer.

She looked deep into his stunning green eyes and smiled back, allowing him to capture her lips in a slow, passionate kiss. Instantly, they both felt every negative emotion slowly leave their bodies and were left with the tingling sensation on their lips, where their mouths merged together in a fluid motion over and over again.

He hoisted her up and carried her over to the bed, lifting the covers and placing her gently down on the soft sheets, never breaking contact. He climbed on top of her and continued to assault her mouth with his, sucking lightly on her bottom lip. Natsu wanted to venture further, to explore places he hadn't been yet. Breaking off from her lips, he made his way, ever so attentively, up her jaw, down to her ear and onto her neck, leaving wet, open-mouthed kisses in his wake.

She felt like she was in heaven, as he greedily swallowed each and every sound she made. Hearing her gasp and moan as he savoured her sensitive skin, made him want to just take her and throw caution to the wind, but he had more self-control then that, that day would come eventually. If this was how she reacted with just a bit of heavy petting, then god knows how she'd feel if he went any further.

But tonight wasn't that night, he didn't want to push it too far and so kept all activity above the collar bone and so did she. They continued like this for who knows how long before eventually breaking away and falling asleep. Lucy was nicely snuggled up to Natsu, relishing in his warmth and he was sprawled out, taking full advantage of the enormous bed.

Both of their lips had been thoroughly used and abused and their skin looked red and swollen. She was definitely going to have marks in the morning, but it didn't matter because she'd given as good as she'd got, so with any luck, Natsu would too and she couldn't wait to see his reaction at her handy work.

Hi guys, I hope you enjoyed, even if it was a bit darker, but they finally completed their first job away from the baby. There are a few things from this chapter that haven't been answered, which will be explained in the next chapter, it would be way too long otherwise. Thank you for reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoyed, even if it was a bit darker, but they finally completed their first job away from the baby. There are a few things from this chapter that haven't been answered, which will be explained in the next chapter, it would be way too long otherwise. Thank you for reading!


	9. Overcoming Your Fears

Lucy had been startled awake again that morning. Her heart was pounding and her breathing heavy from the same recurring nightmare she dreamt of every so often. A nightmare that had continued to disturb her sleep ever since they'd returned from their last mission, the fateful one where they'd been stalked by Haru's biological father. It always started with him looking for them in the forest. Sometimes her dreams replayed what actually happened, other times it was Haru he'd kidnapped instead of Amelia. Then there were the worst ones where he'd carried out his threats on the children and it made her sick to her stomach, jolting her awake covered in sweat. Each dream always ended the same, Natsu was no where to be seen and she was unable to stop the man from harming the children.

They'd returned from that job two months ago now, and every time Lucy thought back to it, she remembered every word that guy had said and the horrific things he'd planned to do. She'd been so thrown off by who it was, she'd let her guard down and her nightmares were a constant reminder of what could have happened if Natsu hadn't been there to protect her and the girl. What if he'd been a mage? What if it'd been Haru he'd kidnapped? It's those sorts of thoughts that made her question herself and tormented her conscience.

Natsu had become acutely aware of her waking during the night and in order to help her get over it, he'd taken it upon himself to find a solution. She needed something that would bring back her confidence in her abilities, not just as a mage but as a mother who could protect her child without the assistance of others. She needed something where she had to rely on herself to pull her through and what better than a solo mission, Natsu thought it was perfect. He'd had a hard time convincing her, but she'd finally accepted the job he'd picked out. Lucy was about to embark on her first solo job since who knows when and as nervous as she was, she couldn't wait to get back in action and hopefully prove to herself that she was still just as strong as she'd always been.

Natsu had accompanied Lucy to the station, and waited with her. "You doing alright, Luce?" Natsu asked, he knew she was super anxious about going alone, but he wanted her to know that he had every faith in her, he knew she was strong, she always had been, he just needed her to see that.

"Yeah, I just hope it all goes well." She said, a few sweat drops appearing on her brow. She was just glad the mission he'd picked (without her permission, she might add) looked pretty simple, it wouldn't take more than a day to complete, which meant she'd be home late that evening. "Are you going to be okay on your own with Haru?"

"Sure, I'll be fine. Haru and I are gonna have lots of fun! Aren't we, buddy?" He beamed, lifting the smiling baby up to his face. Little Haru spent most of his awake time smiling these days, he was such a happy little guy. At only three months old, he already had his own personality coming through. Natsu chuckled at his adorable expression, nuzzling his nose up against the baby's making him giggle uncontrollably. "Listen Lucy! He's laughing! See, I told you we were gonna have fun!" Natsu couldn't stop smiling, the infants giggle reverberated through the station and it was the cutest noise either mage had ever heard.

"Oh my goodness! That was the sweetest little laugh ever!" Lucy felt her chest warm as she stepped closer to join in on the fun, "Did Daddy make you laugh? He's silly isn't he?" She chuckled, as Natsu handed him to her so that she could have one last cuddle. "Mama's going to miss you so much today!"

"Think of it as a break, Luce. You're a great mom, but you need your space too and then you can tell us all about it when you get home." He grinned at her, trying to relieve her stress somewhat with the approaching train thundering into the station.

She gave Haru one last little kiss on his cheek, before giving him back to Natsu. As she was about to walk away, Natsu grabbed her wrist and drew her to him, placing his hand on the back of her head and tangling his fingers into her hair. "Remember why you're doing this, Luce. You've saved my ass more times than I can count, but you've just gotta believe in yourself again, like I believe in you." Her chest flood with warmth, eyes turning watery from his kind words.

Laying eyes on his beautiful partners face, he kissed her wantonly, heatedly, not caring who was around to see. He smirked against her, gazing at the cute blush that'd crept up onto her skin. Still in each others embrace, they pulled their heads away, lost in their own small bubble.

"Damn you and that mouth of yours! How am I supposed to get on the train looking like this?" She gave him a bashful smile, her eyes flickering between his hot mouth and fiery gaze.

He leaned closer, sporting a sly grin and tickling her ear whilst whispering into it, "Maybe I'll show you more of what my mouth can do later."

Lucy's ears were red and steaming, her entire face felt like it was on fire. How was she meant to concentrate on this job now, when all she was going to be plagued with was erotic images of his hot mouth all over her. He chuckled lowly, leaning back to get a good look at her flushed face. Feeling satisfied with her reaction he let go, wishing her luck as she boarded the carriage and they waved at each other through the window when the train pulled away. It was strange seeing Lucy go off on a mission without him, he'd always accompanied her before, but he knew she needed this, it was for her own good and so, with that in mind he looked down at the gurgling baby, and grinned.

"What do you think, little guy? Where d'you wanna go?" He waited for some sort of response. The baby held his head up from his father's shoulder and smiled once again, "To the guild? Good choice! Daddy was thinking that too! Happy should be there by now." Natsu grinned, turning to walk in the direction of the city.

He wandered slowly through the streets of Magnolia, talking softly to the little one as he showed him all the different market stalls, making sure Haru knew exactly where to get the best food in town. Although he never liked being apart from Lucy, Natsu did enjoy spending his time with just Haru. He loved to show him all the things he found cool and exciting, or spend hours playing with him whilst telling him stories of Igneel or his and the teams past adventures. It was their special bonding time, something Natsu hoped they would continue to do as Haru got older. It was these precious moments that the slayer would cherish for the rest of his life, one's he wished he could've had more of with Igneel, but that was the past and Haru was his future and what a bright one it was turning into.

After finally reaching the guild hall, Gajeel was quick to run over, "Salamander! Are we still on or what?" Referring to a bet they'd made the other day. Natsu had been bored, so challenged Gajeel to see who could use their roar attack for the longest, but before he could follow through with it, Haru had woken up from his nap. "Or do you surrender to the superior dragon?"

"Superior? Ha! Don't make me laugh, Metal head, I just got better things to do." Natsu scoffed, gesturing to the bundle he was carrying, whilst continuing to walk straight passed Gajeel without a second glance.

Gajeel's mouth dropped open, totally dumbstruck. Did the infamous salamander just turn down a bet? The iron dragon slayer was speechless, he couldn't believe his own ears and apparently neither could any other guild member that'd heard him.

"Are you sick, Natsu?" Lisanna asked, putting her hand against his forehead to check his temperature.

"No, of course not. I don't get sick!" He looked up at her hand until she removed it from his head. Checking his temperature wasn't going to work, it was always high. "I feel fine." He reassured her. He sat down at the bar and turned to the crowd gathering around him, staring sceptically at the bewildered looks they were giving him. "What did I do now?" He groaned, rolling his eyes.

"What don't you do, Pinky!" Gray muttered under his breath from across the bar, knowing Natsu would hear him. The fire breather turned swiftly to the smug looking demon slayer and scowled, about to give him a piece of his mind but instead was interrupted by a barrage of comments flying at him from all over the room.

"Uh-oh! He's pussy whipped!" Macao shouted from a nearby bench.

"You're damn right he's pussy whipped, what's she threatened you with? No sex? That'll do it!" Wakaba shouted straight after, then they both began to laugh when Natsu choked on and spat out the drink Mira had just given to him. Luckily his reflexes were quick enough to move Haru out of the way.

"He's on his best behaviour so Lucy gives him some once she gets back!" Cana drunkenly blurted, "Good boy Natsu, you'll be getting your dick wet tonight!"

"Making babies is MANLY!" Elfman cried.

"Who said anything about making babies you big dolt!" Evergreen scolded, smacking Elfman with her fan.

"You're trying for another baby? That's so cute! Haru needs a sibling." Levy said with a little sparkle in her eye.

What the hell were they all going on about? A question Natsu often asked himself with regards to his guild mates. He'd stopped trying to look at each person individually as they spoke and had started to drift off. Is this what Lucy had to put up with every time their relationship was brought up, because, man, did he feel sorry for her! The only thing he could do was wait patiently until they all shut up, because unlike Lucy, he was use to their antics.

"You guys are like vultures…" Natsu sighed, not looking remotely amused whilst raising his eyebrow at them. Haru had started to get tired and began whimpering from all of the commotion. "See, now look what you've all done! Haru was the reason I turned the bet down, not because of whatever you old lechers were calling it." He accused, pointing his finger at a sniggering Wakaba and Macao, then turned back to the others. "And anyway, what's it to all of you what Lucy and I do?" He pulled Haru away from his chest and laid him down in his arms, making the little one comfortable and pulled out a bottle of milk from his backpack to warm up and feed him, watching as the baby's eyes instantly lit up.

"So… you are trying for another baby?" Mira sneaked in there, her eyes like stars at the possibility of that being true. "It's okay, you can tell me."

"Why would I tell you that?" Natsu looked up, confused as to why he'd tell her something that wasn't true, until he realised she'd misunderstood him. "That's not what I meant!"

"But you didn't deny it, so how're we to know?" Levy teased, elbowing Natsu in the arm.

"I think they are! You should hear the noises they make when they think they're alone together." Happy flew over, and started circling Natsu's head, giggling along with some of the girls.

"Happy! You'll upset Haru if you keep doing that!" He growled at the exceed, then turned back to the rest of them. "No, we're not trying for anything. Lucy and I haven't even… er-" He stopped mid sentence as he realised what he was about to say would doom him for all eternity, but by the looks on their faces, it was too late.

"How is that even possible? You've been together for months now, what are you both doing?!" Cana shrieked, making Haru burst in to tears from her racket. She was gobsmacked. How is it they'd been sharing the same bed and not touched each other?

"Oh no, it's okay buddy, don't cry. Cana's just got a big mouth that she can't keep shut." He frowned when Haru refused the rest of his milk, deciding that he wanted to be held against Natsu's chest and have a cuddle instead.

"Natsu, even I have to admit I'm surprised that neither of you have fornicated, I assumed most loving couples did that sort of thing, to, er, procreate or otherwise…" Erza had tried to keep her composure whilst saying that and even though she'd sounded the part, she'd failed miserably by turning the same colour as her hair.

"Forn-a-what now? I don't get what the big deal is here? It's not like I don't wanna, I'm just waiting for Lucy to want it too." He thought he was doing the right thing by waiting for Lucy, was that not what he was supposed to do then?

"Have you not thought that maybe Lucy's waiting for you too? If she's not done that sort of thing before, there's no way she's gonna initiate it with you. You gotta be the man and go for it." Gajeel grinned, making Levy blush.

"Go for it? But wouldn't that scare Lucy off?" He asked, if he knew Lucy would be ready for it then he would have done it ages ago, but he couldn't be sure without asking her directly and there was no way he was going to do that.

"Well you haven't scared her off yet and that's a feat all in itself!" Gray smirked again, man did he love to wind Natsu up.

"Hey droopy! What's that supposed to mean?!" Natsu snarled through gritted teeth.

"Gray, your clothes…" Cana huffed at the ice mage as he looked down at himself and freaked over losing his clothing, then turned back to Natsu, gaining his attention again. "Just go for it and see where it takes you. You never know, you might be pleasantly surprised…" She smirked, like she knew something he didn't.

Natsu had picked up on the subtle cue, and smirked to himself. So Lucy had spoken to them about it? Which was surprising but by the sounds of it, she wanted it just as much as he did. However, it's not like he could do much about it right now, she wasn't there, but she would be later and he couldn't stop his imagination from running wild. However, those lewd thoughts were unfortunately interrupted by the she demon and her sister.

"If you want, Natsu, Mira and I could take the little one tonight, so you and Lucy can spend some time together?" Lisanna offered, she'd been dying to get her hands on the baby and so had her sister. "I imagine being parents is hard work especially without a break every once in a while."

"But, I'm not sure if Lucy would-"

"Lucy would appreciate it as well I'm sure. You could do something romantic for her for when she gets home?" Mira said, smiling at the dragon slayer.

"You got to have time to yourselves every once in a while, Gajeel and I do. It doesn't make you a bad parent for wanting some space." Levy explained. It did sound quite tempting to take them up on the offer, spending a night with just Lucy sounded like heaven.

"Then you got no excuse not to bend her over." Cana laughed, watching as the dragon slayer's face started to redden a little.

"You've always gotta lower the tone!" Natsu said staring at her, before turning back to Lisanna, "Fine, but you forgot about Happy, it's his house too."

"I don't wanna get in the way of your gross kissing, you always sound like you're trying to eat each other. I'm going night fishing, Lily said he'd come with me!" Happy laughed to himself, earning a scowl from Natsu to shut him up, but it quickly turned into a chuckle, shaking his head, that cat would never change.

Natsu spent the afternoon at the bar stuffing himself silly and playing with Haru, when he was awake, and Happy, before it was time to hand the little guy over. He gave Haru a kiss on the cheek and smiled when the baby smiled back at him. He gave him to Mira, gauging his expression to make sure he was alright before he left. He noticed a slight hesitancy from the baby as he stared into the smiling face of the she-demon. But it wasn't long until Mira had managed to win him over allowing Natsu to relax a bit, making his leave he smiled to himself when he heard the baby giggle again at all the weird noises Mira was making.

Once out of the guild, Natsu halted and took a long, deep breath, he was kinda nervous and excited about the night he'd somewhat planned for Lucy. He hoped her job was a success because then she'd be in a good mood as well. He began to walk again, carrying himself all the way home.

Lucy's job had been a triumph, she was so thrilled to be back in action and she was doing it without the help of anyone else, just her and her spirits. The job itself had been relatively easy, it was to transport a load of ancient artefacts across from Hargeon to a small town on the west coast of Fiore, she was requested to keep them safe and stop anyone from trying to steal them. It had been exhausting using her magic for the entire journey but she had completed it, got paid and had just pulled in to Magnolia station.

She couldn't wait to get home to take a nice long shower and see Natsu. It had gotten quite late now and she imagined Haru would be asleep in bed, so she'd have to wait to see him. Lucy was curious to hear how Natsu's day had gone too and wondered briefly if he would make good on his words from earlier.

She felt herself flush at just the very thought of it, would he do it? They'd been together for a few months and they hadn't got passed overly passionate kissing and heated flirting. Lucy absolutely loved how he made her feel but she still wanted to go further, she wanted to experience what it was like to be truly intimate with someone and surely he did to, or was he really that clueless? In her desperation, she'd even gone to Cana for advice which hadn't really helped, she was much too vulgar to have a serious conversation with. It had left her at a dead end, she was too shy about that sort of thing to outright ask for it, but she wanted to do something, even if it wasn't all the way it could be at least some of it.

Lucy had finally reached her house, only to be startled when Natsu seemingly appeared from nowhere, he grinned, pleased to see her home at last. "Hey, Luce. I thought I could smell you." He said, watching her relax a little and smile back at him. "Are you just gonna stand there or do I have to come to you?"

She dropped her bags and ran up to him, jumping into his arms. They kissed fervently and it instantly made Lucy's skin heat up, she really didn't think she'd ever get use to kissing him like that. When they finally pulled away, grinning like idiots at each other, she remembered that she hadn't seen Haru or Happy and wondered where they were. But before she could ask, Natsu took her hand and guided her to the nearby hill top close to their house. Her breath caught in her throat when she laid eyes upon the dazzling sight before her.

Just like the view from their bedroom but even more spectacular, was Magnolia city, all lit up and mimicking the beautiful night sky above them, the stars were out in full force and she could see the constellations clearly. She looked at the ground and noticed a large blanket and a few cushions had been laid out, in just the right spot for stargazing, it was simple but effective and very much Natsu. She realised then that he must've planned this for them and that Haru was probably with one of their friends for the night.

"It's so beautiful! Did you plan this?" She asked, not being able to rip her gaze away from the stunning scenery.

"Sort of, I guess. You always say the stars are brighter from up here, so I figured you'd want to spend some time looking at them." He said, watching her reaction to it all. "Come and sit down, Luce, I made some dinner for you too if you're hungry?" Her face paled at the thought of Natsu wrecking their kitchen, she made a note to check it before they went to bed. "And before you bombard me with questions; no, I didn't mess up the kitchen and Haru is with Mira, he's fine." Natsu said, leading her down onto the blanket and bringing out a basket full of food. "Oh, and Happy's gone night fishing with Lily." He finished, feeling like a responsible adult.

"Well, look at you acting like a grown up and for the record I wasn't going to ask. I'd already guessed that Haru was with someone else, otherwise you wouldn't be so calm. However, I'm still dubious about the kitchen." She chuckled at his sheepish grin, whilst digging into the food to settle her rumbling stomach. "My job was a success by the way. You were right, I really did need that, it felt good to use my magic again. I had fun!"

"Good, did you get any one trying to steal the stuff?" He asked, he was genuinely interested in how her job went, wanting to hear how bad-ass she'd been. Which had always secretly been a huge turn on for him.

"Yeah, loads! I didn't realise the relics were that important. I sat on top of the train and used my Sagittarius star dress to shoot them all as they approached. It was like playing a game…" She continued to tell Natsu all about it, smiling and laughing at all the things that'd happened.

"...and just as we were pulling into the last station, some big burly guy came onto the train and knocked me out of the way. His size took me by surprise at first, but I quickly changed into my Taurus form and beat him. It was like letting all my anxiety out at once." She finished, grinning from ear to ear. "Apart from the train ride, you would have loved it. There must have been over a hundred of them trying to ambush me and I took down every single one of them."

She felt so refreshed telling Natsu about her achievements and he looked so pleased for her, soaking up every word she told him. He could see the little glint in her eyes had returned, the way she was talking about what she did had brought hope to him that her confidence had returned. He stared into her beautiful eyes as they held this new type of vigour, she looked ready to take on the world and just like always, he'd be right there beside her.

After what seemed like hours of talking about their days, they found themselves laying down on the blanket, huddled closely to one another, gazing up at the stars. Lucy felt like a weight had been lifted and now she had time to relax with her dorky partner, and just be themselves for a change. She couldn't remember a time where she felt more at peace then what she did in that moment, she could have stayed there like that, forever.

"Thank you for today, Natsu, it's really helped clear my head of everything that's been troubling me. I should've listened to you all along, I am strong enough, I know I am and just like always, you've been there to help me see it." She said, nuzzling her head further into the crook of his neck. His hand was splayed against her exposed stomach, stroking it lightly. "And laying here like this with you is just the perfect way to end the day."

"Anything to keep you smiling, Luce!" He murmured against her hair. "I'm just glad it all worked out! I told you I believed in you."

"You did and I'm so grateful for it." She beamed, she was so content in that moment. It got her thinking of how precious times like these were, where they could be just Natsu and Lucy, the two best friend turned lovers. "I could stay like this with you forever, but I guess now we have Haru, we'll miss out on times like this. It's a shame we didn't do more of this before becoming parents." It wasn't that they didn't spend time together, they did plenty of that, but it was always as friends not as anything more.

"We won't miss out, Luce. We'll find time to be just us, I promise. Haru won't always be this small, then we'll have all the time in the world to be with each other. I said forever didn't I?" Natsu thought back to when he'd told her that, it'd been when he first came to terms with his feelings for her. It felt so long ago now and so much had changed since then, they'd achieved so much together. However, he understood how she felt, it was a shame they'd both been too dense to see what was in right front of them. But without Haru, they'd still be in denial and who knows how long it would've taken for them both to act.

"Yeah, you did say that." She smiled up at him and kissed his jaw.

Natsu brought her closer, brushing his fingers over her hip, grazing a sore spot and making Lucy hiss suddenly. She flinched at the painful vault that ran through her leg, making her sit up. Natsu bolted upright, concerned by her reaction, he wanted to check her over to make sure she was okay. After a quick scan of her body, he caught sight of a huge dark bruise that'd appeared on her right hip.

"Whoa, Lucy! That's one hell of a bruise!" Natsu was shocked by how big it was, it must have been fresh because that hadn't been there earlier. He brushed his fingers gently over it, earning a small whimper from her, as she tried to hide how painful it was. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." He grimaced as he looked up to her eyes and saw her bravely trying to hold back her tears from the pain it had caused.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt that much. I'll be okay." She said as she went to touch it herself, "Ouch! I take it back, that's so sore! It must have been from that huge guy I defeated earlier, he was pretty tough." She yelped, whipping her hand away from the darkened area.

"That bastard! At least you beat him, Luce!" He said smiling at her, trying to lighten the mood. "I'd apply heat to it if I knew it would help, but I don't think it will. You need ice on that."

"Hmm, looks like I'll have to go and find some ice then…" She said slyly. Putting her finger to her lip, she put on a cute thinking face. "Do you know of anyone in particular, that could be of assistance, Natsu?" She pretended innocence, struggling to hold her smile down when she saw Natsu's face turn into one of disgust.

"Don't even go there!" He raised his eyebrow at her, realising that she was trying to provoke him, but after all of her past failed attempts at doing just that she definitely wasn't going to succeed this time either.

"Go where? I only asked if you knew of anyone that could provide me with ice, or would you prefer to see me suffer?" She said, moving slowly closer to him, careful not to touch the bruise. She put on her best innocent smile as she looked deep into his eyes through her lashes.

"I think you know my answer already, Lucy. And as much as it would kill me to say it…" His eyes bore deep into hers, his hands clutched both sides of her head and gently stroked her skin. His face remained calm and serious as he spoke, "I'm sorry, Luce, but I'd have to let you suffer." He murmured, flicking his nose against hers, before moving back a bit.

She gasped, watching his lips split into a mischievous grin, "You're so mean! How could you? And here I was thinking you loved me." She joked. It's only when she noticed Natsu's eyes go wide that her own mirrored his, her hands shot up to her mouth when she realised what she'd said out loud. "N-No, wait, I-I, er, that's not, I d-didn't mean…" Feeling herself become quickly flustered, she started babbling, trying but failing to make up any excuse for what she'd blurted.

Natsu tilted his head at her and furrowed his brows whilst she rambled on, confused by what she was trying to tell him, "Didn't mean what, Luce?" He asked.

She stopped her erratic talking instantly, "What I said, did you not hear me?" Was he pretending that he hadn't heard her? Her heart sank a little, maybe he wasn't ready for that yet? She felt her mood dampen, who was she trying to kid? He really was clueless. She went to stand, her painful hip pushed to the back of her mind, no longer caring about the discomfort as she tried to adjust to being on her feet. "Never mind, Natsu."

Just as she was about to turn she felt a warm hand wrap around her wrist, stopping her from walking off, but she was no longer in the mood for his antics. "Wait, don't go! I heard what you said, Luce." He said, almost frantically. He stood and took a step closer, hand cupping her cheek, totally transfixed by the radiant glow of her glossy brown eyes, wavering back and forth between them. "And you're right… I do love you."

She gasped, not actually expecting him to say it. "You love me?" She blushed a little but not caring about her pink skin. He loved her? Natsu Dragneel loved her? Why was it so surprising? That was usually how relationships developed, yet she still couldn't believe what her ears were hearing.

"Now who isn't listening?" He grinned fondly, taking in her gorgeous stunned features, with his hand still on her cheek, rubbing softly at her delicate skin. "I wouldn't lie to you, weirdo. I said it because I meant it." He brought her head closer to his, their lips brushing together and curling up into a tender smile, "You mean everything to me, Lucy."

Lucy's mind had turned to mush, she felt her knees turn weak, like they were about to collapse. She clung to his jacket to steady herself and wrap her head around what he'd just told her. She didn't know what to do with herself, she was so filled with joy it was making it hard to think straight, but luckily Natsu was there to save the day. He pressed his mouth to hers, slowly bringing her down until she was laying against the blanket, never breaking contact. He caged her between the soft floor and his hot body, overwhelming her lips, it was a feeling like no other. She wanted to sate his hunger for her, to be completely and utterly consumed by him and have him gorge on every part of her body until there was nothing left except pure, sweet bliss.

Unable to control her inner desires any more, she snaked her hands up his body and ever so slowly unzipped his jacket until his front was completely exposed. The cool air against his burning hot skin seemed to shock him at first, stopping in his tracks when he felt her colder hands lay flat against his chest. Disconnecting from her mouth and gazing deep into her eyes, it seemed like he was looking for something, a sign maybe? Or a reason to her actions? Usually, she wouldn't have been so forward, but now that he'd confessed his love for her, she didn't want to back down, no matter how inexperienced and nervous she was, but he still didn't look too convinced.

"Is this really what you want, Lucy? There's no pressure to do anything if you don't wanna. We can just have a bit of fun?" He spoke tenderly to her, wanting to show his utmost sincerity, because this wasn't some one night fling. He wanted to make sure she was actually ready for it, and not just doing it because Cana or Mira had told her she should be, and definitely not because she thought that this was what he wanted. "We can just start slow, then see where it goes."

Lucy's chest flooded with nervous energy, he was so sweet sometimes, and she definitely wanted this, she'd wanted it for the longest time, but her nerves were starting to get the better of her. "Of course I want this! I love you, Natsu. I've loved you for so long and now I want to show you just how much." She rested her hands on his broad shoulders, her words made his stomach do back flips and then she smiled, the most beautiful shy smile appearing on her smooth features and it took his breath away."I've just never done this before and I'm kinda nervous is all."

"I know, Luce, neither have I, but we can learn together. You know I'd never do anything to hurt you, your trust means everything to me and I would never break that." He spoke lowly, almost like a whisper. She nodded back at him, smiling sweetly at his words.

He leaned back down to her mouth and kissed her softly and full of passion for the girl he adored so much. It wasn't long before the kiss became more needy but it still held the same amount of love in it, because that's what he intended to do, make love to her, whether that be tonight or any other night. Natsu loved Lucy with every fibre of his being and she deserved his very best efforts.

He made his way down to her neck, paying extra attention to all the areas he knew made her squirm. Her hands went straight into his hair, while his were laid next to her head. Travelling down to his shoulders, she hooked her fingers under his open jacket and pushed it off of him, hearing it crumple on the floor. Wanting to feel his hard muscles against her skin, Lucy reached down to her own top and slowly pulled it over her head, forcing Natsu to detach himself from her. He pulled back a bit to gaze over her slender form, and damn, was she stunning! She could make any man hers if she truly wanted, but she'd chosen him and for that, he would be forever grateful.

He looked down to Lucy's chest and noticed they were still encased in her bra, that was no good! He wanted to get a birds eye view and that stupid bit of material was stopping him. He smirked up at Lucy, as an idea popped into his head. He hooked his finger around the material and in a second her chest was on fire, burning the bra away, but not hurting Lucy, exposing her enormous chest to him and all she could do was shriek at the sudden warm sensation on her skin.

He seemed pleased with himself but she never got a chance to scold him before his mouth dived down to her nipple and latched on, flicking his tongue over it. Her mouth dropped open and inhaled sharply at the new sensation, her head flung back as she arched herself a little into the air, pushing more of herself into him. His free hand came up to play with the other one, making Lucy moan out loud. Natsu felt himself respond to the noise she'd made to the point where it was now very obvious in his pants. He was so turned on from watching her enjoy herself, it was a stunning sight to behold and he could only imagine what having sex with her would be like.

He released the nipple from his mouth but kept his hand firmly on the other one as he began to make his descent to her stomach. Her creamy skin was so sensitive, and so deliciously sweet, her scent was ever so strong right now and it was overwhelming his senses the closer he got to her legs. He finally reached the band of her skirt, looking up to Lucy to make sure they were both in sync.

"P-Please don't burn it…" She whimpered out quickly as he continued to play with her nipple.

He smirked at her, she could barely get the words out, and all he was doing was playing with her breast. He removed the skirt, the proper way, as swiftly as possible, leaving her thigh high socks on and taking off her boots to make her more comfortable. She was now laying before him in nothing but her skimpy (pointless, he thought) underwear and some thigh high socks and what a sight it was. His cock twitched again, he could feel the blood rushing from his head down to his groin as his arousal began to take over. He was glad for self control because, by god, was it difficult seeing her like that.

He was having a hard time controlling the heat radiating off of him, which she was glad for because the air had a bit of a chill to it. He was staring at her, like she was some delicate piece of jewellery that might break if touched in the wrong way, but she missed the contact and so proceeded to help him along. She reached down and slowly took off her underwear until only the socks remained on her body. She felt her face blush like crazy, but couldn't take her eyes off of his face. He looked mesmerised by her, he'd seen her naked a hundred times before and yet it all felt so new. He gave her a soft smile as he began kissing her again, making his way down from her hips, to her inner thigh, nipping at her sensitive skin. He edged closer and closer to the area her overpowering scent was strongest until he could go no further.

"P-Please, Natsu, touch me. I want you to touch me." Her voice soft and wavering as she looked down at him, her heart pounded uncontrollably when she saw how close he was to her.

"Touch you where, Lucy? Show me." He said, he wanted to get this right, but with having no previous experience a little guidance was needed until he got the hang of it.

Lucy felt herself flush even more as she opened her legs wide, giving him the full view of her nether region. She reached her hand down, using her fingers to separate her lips to reveal her swollen clit. Now this was an area he'd definitely not seen before, but still felt compelled to see what that would taste like and moved his face down to where she was showing him. He held her legs apart and encased her clit with his mouth and began to suck lightly, using his tongue to swirl over and around it, whilst keeping his gaze on Lucy's face. Her eyes instantly rolled to the back of her head and let out a long breathy moan. Her hands landed back in his hair, pulling and tugging as he continued his onslaught, his warm tongue felt like heaven.

"Yes, Natsu, right there, i-it feels so good…" She mewled, totally lost in the pleasure he was giving her.

He wanted to elicit more of those erotic sounds from her and make her tell him just how amazing she felt, it was like music to his ears knowing that he was the one causing her to feel that way. Natsu grazed his fingers lightly over her entrance and watched her breathing become harsh and heavy, then ever so slowly pushed a single digit into her. He could feel her tense around him and she groaned at the new sensation. Once she seemed to relax, he added another finger, stretching her even more, but this time her expression turned strained.

"Does that still feel good, Luce?" He asked, he didn't want to hurt her, that wasn't the point of this.

"Mm-hmm… really good." She breathed, bucking her hips up a little, "Fuck me with your fingers, Natsu."

Smirking at her choice of words, she was quite the dirty talker, if she liked that then he'd have to up his game too. "As you wish." he murmured, going back down to suck on her clit, whilst moving his hand back and forth inside of her, making her groan loudly over and over again.

She could feel the tension building up within her and to add to her sweet torture, the more she moaned the faster he would go. The feeling of his fingers massaging the inside of her walls was enough to almost send her over the edge, and he could see she was close. Natsu was enjoying watching her teeter on the edge, he kissed and nipped his way up her body, fingers continuing to work their magic before he eventually found himself face to face with a very flushed and burning hot Lucy, and fuck, did she look absolutely breathtaking in this state.

She could feel her climax approaching and it was so intimate with their eyes locked on each other as he brought her closer and closer. He leaned down to her ear and sucked on her lobe, "That's it, Lucy, come on my hand, show me how good it feels." He growled against her, sending a shiver through her spine.

Hearing him speak like that made her snap. Tremors racked Lucy's body as her orgasm took hold, tensing around his fingers and crying out into the night. She felt her mind go blank, while her eyes rolled into the back of her head, it was like nothing she'd ever felt. He halted his movements, allowing her to ride it out with his fingers still firmly inside her. He gawked at her writhing body beneath him, totally captivated by how incredible she was. When she finally came down from her high, Natsu was staring down at her with the biggest smirk on his face, obviously pleased with himself that he'd managed to make her climax.

"That was so hot!" He growled against her mouth, claiming her lips briefly and removing his fingers from her. "We should take this indoors." He grinned playfully, carefully lifting her from the ground. Natsu chucked her over his shoulder, ignoring her protests to put her down and took her inside. Now the fun could really begin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry this took a bit longer to come out, I must have rewritten it about 6 times in the end, but it's here now, thank god! :D And don't worry, I haven't cheated you out of smut, this chapter was long enough without adding any more to it, so you will be getting the full, unadulterated smuttiness you've probably been waiting for, or not if you don't like that sort of thing. I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading! :)


	10. A Night To Ourselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to warn you that this chapter is riddled with mature content.

Natsu's mind had all but melted. There she was in all her naked glory, splayed out on their bed, in the exact place he'd just placed her down from his shoulder and all he could do was ogle. Pants were tightening and blood was rushing from his head to feed his famished arousal, it was an image that would forever be imprinted in his mind. He stood frozen, as if one wrong move would tarnish the image making it vanish, like an illusion playing tricks on him.

The moon light pouring in through their window had cast an ethereal glow to her already milky skin, making it glimmer in all the right places, showing off those delicious curves and contours. The heat radiating off of him was warming the air around them, making tiny little droplets of sweat cascade down her slender body, just waiting to be licked up by his parched tongue. He swallowed thickly, desperately trying to lubricate his dry mouth and throat, but finding no relief.

Lucy's arousal had skyrocketed after their little escapade outside and her needs were growing stronger by the second, yet Natsu hadn't moved an inch. She locked eyes with the dragon slayer, he looked a little unsure if anything, which she kinda found endearing. He was usually so full of confidence and certainty, it was a rare occurrence to see him looking so vulnerable. An idea came to mind, a way to bring him the same sort of pleasure he brought to her outside, she wanted him to feel just as good. She gracefully moved up onto her hands and knees and crawled over to where he was standing at the edge of the bed and looked up at him through her lashes, smirking devilishly.

Right in her face, mere inches from her mouth was his cock, hard as a rock but still covered by his white pants. He watched her with intent, not entirely sure what she was about to do and buzzing on adrenaline at all the things she might do. Lucy sat back onto her knees, eyes remained focused on his as she leaned her arms forward and gripped hold of his pants, yanking them down and off somewhere onto the shadowed floor. Her hands snaked their way back up his muscled legs until they rested on his hips, she tried to remain calm as she pulled her gaze away from his face and looked down to the area she'd not really seen before, not intentionally anyway.

Her eyes widened until they were as big as saucers, her mouth fell open and she felt heat travel into her cheeks the longer she gaped. She felt her nerves flood her body, what was she supposed to do now? Just seconds ago, she was confident enough to take off his pants and now every ounce of courage had evaporated, she felt drawn to it and yet still wanted to run a mile.

Natsu had been watching her, even through his lust filled haze, he still had enough sense to realise that she looked super apprehensive. A smile creased his face and he let out a small chuckle, he couldn't help it, her innocence was almost too much to handle sometimes.

Giving his best attempt at composing himself at her naivety, he bent down so that his face was level with hers, "Why did you stop, Lucy?"

She looked up to him, flinching at his sudden close proximity and pursed her lips, "O-Oh, sorry, it just looks a little intimidating... Won't it hurt…?" She attempted to clear her throat as if that was the problem here. "I mean the girls said that it can hurt." Her face had gone the darkest shade of red, struggling to hold her gaze with his when he raised an eyebrow at her.

Natsu resisted the urge to roll his eyes, of course the others had told her that, why did they insist on interfering? "Do you really think I'd do anything if I knew it was gonna cause you pain? I promise you, Lucy, it's not going to hurt, I won't let it!" Natsu said, he could see the little glint in her eyes return and a small smile made it's way onto her beautiful face. Satisfied, he straightened himself up again, about to crawl onto her.

He was stopped abruptly when he felt her small hands grasp firmly at his dick. His breath caught in his throat and all sense of sanity vanished in a puff of smoke. Her grip was stronger than expected and it was making him pulse in readiness. Clutching on to her head with both hands, Natsu gently pulled her up to his face and connected their lips, growling into her as she began to move her hand up and down his shaft. "Fuck, Lucy!" Is all he could wrangle out once his mind went blank, not being able to concentrate on anything but what she was doing to him.

He felt of decent size in her hands, not that she had anything to compare it to, but the way he was reacting to her gave her the confidence to keep going, "I'm not sure you'll fit, Natsu." Lucy murmured into his mouth, feigning innocence. She moved herself down from his face to his shaft and gave it one long, lucid lick all the way to the tip then encased it in her mouth, taking in as much as she could without gagging whilst her eyes remained focused on his the entire time.

Damn her pretty lips and that teasing voice, it was such a turn on hearing her speak like that, it was so unusual but it sounded so right. Natsu felt like he had died and gone to heaven, why had he never done this with Lucy before? It felt so much better than what he'd anticipated in all the years he'd been having such fantasies, not that he would ever tell Lucy such things.

Lucy's mouth was so warm and wet, it sent spine tingling jolts through him, not to mention how god damn sexy she looked. She was kneeling before him, her chest jiggling as her mouth slid up and down his soaked penis, using his hips to steady herself. It was overwhelmingly hot to watch and undeniably good to feel her do that. There was a build up of tension growing within his belly, he closed his eyes and had to work hard not to fall backwards when the pleasure intensified with each stroke of her tongue. He needed to try and collect himself, he didn't want to cum yet, no matter how good it felt, and so made the quick decision to stop her before he crossed that line.

"Stop being greedy, Lucy, I'm still hungry!" He pouted, surprised that he'd even managed to strain the words out at all. He hadn't meant to sound quite so childish but it'd worked nonetheless. Stopping her ministrations, the blonde looked up at him, confusion written all over her face.

Wait, what did he just say? "Huh-?"

Ignoring her, Natsu took the opportunity to grab hold of her arms before she could think too much into it and push her back onto the bed with him. He scanned her shocked face, but didn't offer her an explanation, instead he moved to mash their lips in a searing hot kiss which she instantly melted into. His hand began to roam her body, eventually ending up back in between her legs, circling the small bump at the top with his fingers, swallowing more of those enticing sounds she made.

"You're so wet, Lucy." He said, pulling apart from her mouth and working his lips down her sensitive body, sucking and nipping until his face was resided between her legs yet again, taking in her overpowering scent. "I think I'll finish my meal now." He spoke lowly. The fire breather lifted her legs upwards, holding them there to give him an unhindered view of the area he wished to taste once more. He closed his mouth around her and began to suck lightly, catching his sharp teeth on her sensitive skin, making her gasp and twitch. Natsu watched Lucy's eyes roll into the back of her head and her voluptuous chest rise and fall sharply with heavy breath whilst his smooth tongue played with her. "You taste just as good as you smell."

She had to admit, him speaking like that was making her mind go wild. Playful, childlike Natsu was talking dirty to her and it was too much for her to fathom, where had this personality come from? She never would've taken him for someone who could be so vocal in the bedroom, usually preferring action over words but she wasn't about to start complaining, he was exceptionally good at it. His voice had just the right amount of gruffness and the way he looked at her whilst saying such smutty things was like watching him in battle, eyeing up his opponent with this air of cockiness as if you'd already lost.

It was that same piercing gaze and sexy smirk she'd always found alluring. However, Natsu still had this mischief about him, a boyish demeanour that only served at making him more handsome. For someone who'd supposedly never done this before, he'd learnt pretty quickly and Lucy wanted more of what he was doing to her. His tongue was the hottest thing about it all (quite literally), hitting all the right places to bring her closer and closer to ecstasy.

"O-Oh, that dirty mouth of yours!" She whimpered, grabbing hold of the sheets above her head and scrunching them up in her hands. The feeling of his strong tongue assaulting her down there was almost too much to endure. She was going to cum again, and the quicker he flicked his muscle over her clit, the stronger and sooner her orgasm would come.

"Why don't you cum into it then? Teach my mouth a lesson for being so dirty." His voice low and hoarse, and oh so seductive.

Bringing Lucy closer to the point of no return, he decided to add two fingers to the mix, using his other hand to keep her grounded as she fought against him to buck her hips up. She was up to her eyeballs in euphoria. Natsu's rough fingers added just the right amount of friction, and the way he was twisting them inside her made her stomach knot together, building such delicious tension ready to unravel.

He gave her one last hard suck and twist of his fingers to make Lucy come apart. Her legs involuntarily closed around him, trapping him against her writhing body and forcing his fingers out. Her body tremored uncontrollably and her breathing seized. Pride emanated in Natsu's chest at the sound of Lucy's orgasm ripping out of her throat and echoing through the house. Seeing Lucy in such a state made the fire eaters cock pulse in excitement and now that she was saturated in his saliva and her own fluids, he was sure that he'd readied her enough for what was to come.

He climbed on top of her and joined their lips again in a sloppy, unrefined kiss, letting her get a taste of her own arousal on his tongue. He wanted to do this right, to make their first time as enjoyable as possible. He pulled away and locked onto her hazy eyes, "Lucy, if you want to stop, all you have to do is say. You're not gonna hurt my feelings if you say no." He spoke softly, flickering his gaze back and forth to watch for any doubt in her expression. He wanted to reassure her that should she choose to stop at any point, then that would be just fine. He would never want her to feel pressured or uncomfortable, they could always try again some other time, there was no rush.

She smiled genuinely up at him, her eyes sparkling in the shaded light of the room. Even though she was stupidly anxious and the tremors running through her body were no longer down to her climax, she knew what she wanted. Lucy understood that no matter what, Natsu would always put her first, he would make sure that she enjoyed it and she wanted nothing more than to share such an intimate experience with him, to give herself to him fully and for him to give himself in return.

"I want you, all of you, I've never been more sure of anything." She proclaimed, watching his face light up at her words. His eyes were full of unspoken feelings but she didn't need him to tell her them, he could show her, just like he always did with everything in his life. "Make love to me, Natsu."

Those five little words were all he needed, their lips locked ardently, with such passion it made her toes curl and her skin prickle. It was a hot attempt at distracting her from what she was most afraid of and it seemed to be doing the trick for now. He found her hand and interlaced their fingers, giving her a soft, but shaky squeeze, giving away that he was just as nervous as she was. The slayer leaned his other hand down to position himself at her entrance, then halted his movements until she gave him the go ahead. Gasping, her eyes widened when she felt him touch up against her opening, wetting his tip ready to take the plunge. He could hear her heart pick up speed, hammering against her chest like it was trying to break out and her spare hand instantly went to his hip, giving her a sense of control, he assumed.

"Lucy, relax… Remember you're in control here, we have all night to figure this out." Natsu smiled at her, giving her little pecks between words to bring her comfort. "And then forever to practice." He chuckled, winking and giving her his signature grin, pleased to hear her giggle back at him.

He waited for her to calm down and take a deep breath, "I'd like that. I've had dreams about this and now I can't believe it's happening." She whispered, fighting a losing battle at calming her beating heart.

"Me too, Lucy, so let's make it a reality, together." He said, matching her tone, finding it a little hard to catch his breath, but grinning through it regardless.

She couldn't help the pink that tinted her cheeks but this time it wasn't from embarrassment. Lucy felt a warmth spread across her chest and in that moment, with Natsu and her about to share one of life's most intimate experiences, she couldn't have been happier. She nodded at him, giving him the permission he sorted and without a second thought pushed his hips forwards, ever so slowly, gauging her expression the entire time. Lucy gasped the moment his penis entered her, stretching her further than she'd ever felt. She grunted from the slight discomfort, it didn't hurt but it certainly wasn't comfortable. Once just the tip was in he came to a stop, chest heaving from the tension in his groin but managed to compose himself before speaking.

"Luce, you doing okay?" He asked, wanting to make sure they were on the same page all the way through this. "Remember to tell me to stop if it's too much."

Not being able to speak, she simply nodded at him. Her eyes were shut tightly, knitting her brows together. There was sweat trickling down her flushed face, but so far she seemed to be okay, so he carried on. Taking his time, having to apply a little more pressure to get past her clenching until he was fully sheathed within her walls, barely able to keep a lid on it from how good it felt.

"O-Oh my god, Natsu…" She strained out, finding it hard to breath from the sheer pressure of him stretching her fully.

She placed her hand on his stomach to stop him from moving any further, needing to become accustomed to having him inside of her. After a few moments of no movement, she felt the tenseness become more bearable and found it a little easier to breathe. Looking up at him, the blonde brought her free hand to his cheek and caressed it gently, giving him a very nervous but loving smile. Lucy spread her legs as wide as they could go, allowing him more access to move and coupled their lips together once more. Natsu drew himself out, groaning from the friction before slowly pushing back in.

The intense feeling of him thrusting back and forth made Lucy give a breathy moan and break the kiss. Clutching hold of the back of his head, her mouth fell open and breathed harshly against his lips. Their noses brushed together and their eyes held a steady gaze, their positioning was so incredibly intimate. It was almost like they were re-enacting a passionate love scene from one of Lucy's romance novels, but with less experience and more awkwardness.

"You feel incredible around me, Lucy!" Natsu murmured. His movements were a little clumsy at first until he found a comfortable rhythm and picked up the pace slightly. He was drowning in heat and clamminess, her insides were so tight and surprisingly snug, she fit him perfectly.

"I-It feels so good!" She mewled. Her moans grew louder and more erratic, along with frantic breaths that she felt no longer in control of, it felt like the air was being ripped out of her every time he bottomed out.

Natsu smirked, he was surprised by how loud she could be. It was feeding his growing ego and the more she moaned the faster and stronger he would thrust into her. It wasn't continuous though, he changed up the pace, knowing that if he really went for it he'd be cumming in a matter of seconds and nobody wanted that, not yet. He needed to make this last as long as possible, to enjoy and make the most of this new experience with Lucy. Although, she definitely looked like she was enjoying it with a face like that. Her mouth had fallen open, her eyes were sealed shut, with her brows arched upwards. Not to mention, her slender neck was curved back off of the bed, she had one hand squeezing the life out of his and the other now gripping at the bed sheets to keep herself steady as he continued to fuck her.

"You sound so sexy…" He whispered into her ear as he latched on to her sensitive, exposed neck. "Do I make you feel good, Lucy?" He nipped at her reddened skin, making it flush more and more with every word he spoke.

"M-Mm hmm…" She stuttered, sucking in her bottom lip to try and tame the ruckus escaping her mouth, but it was no use, moans turned to throaty groans and they were just as turbulent.

"You sound even dirtier like that…" His voice vibrated through his chest, rumbling into Lucy's ear.

Sweat was pouring off of his face and body and his bangs had fallen down, covering his eyes, making him look totally feral. He knew that he wouldn't last much longer at this rate, and by the looks of it, neither would Lucy.

"I-I'm… I'm so close, Natsu…" Her voice wavered, barely able to find the words as he pounded into her.

He reached around to the back of her head and clutched her hair softly, pulling her forehead to his. Harsh breathing mingled together while his fiery hues bore deeply into her glassy, half-lidded ones. Unable to take any more, she finally came undone, screaming Natsu's name to half of Magnolia.

Lucy's entire being shook, her orgasm tearing through every fibre of her being, leaving her a completely quivering mess. She threw her head back, eyes slammed shut while her body convulsed uncontrollably. Her inner walls clamped down tightly around him, giving him his own release. He didn't have chance to comprehend what was happening until he was cumming deep inside her, filling her up and growling her name until he was completely emptied.

Out of breath and completely spent, he slowly pulled himself out of her and collapsed onto her front, head nuzzled into her breasts and breathing in her wondrous scent, drowsiness taking over. She smiled fondly at the mess of wild pink hair tickling her face, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and cuddling him close to her heart. When he finally looked up at her, he grinned, the biggest face splitting grin she'd ever seen, forcing his eyes shut and chuckling lightly from his elation. They'd done it, finally, after all these years of dancing around the sexual tension that had built up between them, they'd taken that step and it was the best feeling in the world.

"Natsu…" She blushed. Why was she blushing now? After everything that'd just happened between them, her body decided now was an appropriate time to feel embarrassed?! Natsu opened his eyes at the sound of his name and looked upon a flustered Lucy, smirking at her predicament the words that followed simply just slipped out of his mouth.

"What's the matter, Luce? You're looking a little hot there." He smirked at her, watching her blush deepen the longer he focused on it.

"Natsu! Stop it, you're making it worse!" She whined, grabbing at her cheeks to hide them from him.

"Exactly! You just look too cute all flustered." Natsu's face turned wicked, watching her ears tint pink, the redness seeping through her splayed fingers. Reluctantly deciding to stop there before she exploded, he got off of Lucy and sat up, face turning softer he reached out his hand to her, "Come on, Luce, let's go take a shower, it stinks of sweat in here and you look like you need to cool off."

Liking the sound of showering with Natsu she eagerly took his hand and sat up, not expecting a jolt of sharp pain to pierce through her side at the simple movement, she cried out. "OUCH! What the-?" Wincing, her eyes slammed shut. She gritted her teeth from the throbbing and clasped her hands over the tender area, hissing as she hunched over. "Ah, that's so painful!"

Natsu's eyes couldn't get any wider, she was in pain… Had he hurt her without realising? The pang of guilt settled in his belly and he felt a little sick at the thought of breaking his own promise to Lucy, especially when she'd been so worried of this exact thing happening. "Have I hurt you, Lucy?" His voice breaking, it was so unlike him to sound so unsure. How could he have been so careless? It certainly didn't help the way he was feeling when he caught a glimpse of tear drops building in the corner of her eyes. "Shit, Lucy! Please don't cry! I never meant to hurt you, I'm so sorry! Here, you can Lucy kick me out the window or… you can punch me in the face, will that help-?"

She placed her index finger over his mouth to shut him up and let out a little laugh. Perplexed at the sound, he tilted his head, not understanding what was so funny. "Shh! Don't be so silly! Of course it wasn't you, it's that huge bruise on my hip. In the heat of the moment, I guess I'd forgotten about it, but now after… well, after all of that, it's probably just exacerbated it." She removed her finger and watched him visibly relax and let out a sigh of relief, glad to hear it wasn't him but still not happy with the fact that Lucy was injured.

"Oh! I'd forgotten about that… Here, does this help?" Natsu asked whilst placing a heated hand on the bruise, moving his body closer to hers and enveloping the spirit mage with his warmth, soothing the pain away. Lucy's body melted into the heat of his skin, closing her eyes and taking a long deep breath in, instantly making her feel better. "You had me worried there for a minute, Lucy!" He exclaimed, relieved that she was okay and happy to have her snuggled in his arms again.

"Natsu, I trust you more than I even trust myself sometimes. And I know you would never do anything to hurt me, not even by accident. Trust is the foundation of our friendship, it always has been." She smiled, reaching her hand to his face and brushing his bangs out of his eyes. He looked surprised for a mere second before returning her smile and kissing her hand as it rested on his cheek.

"I'm glad to hear it." He said, voice barely a whisper, eyes flickering down to hers as they smiled at each other, love and fondness running through their bodies. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, just happy to be in one another's presence.

"How do you feel now? Any better?" He said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm… maybe just a little longer…" She breathed, revelling in his fiery skin, he really was the embodiment of her comfort.

"Jeez, if you want me that badly, you only need to ask." He smirked down at her, watching her cheeks tint the cutest shade of pink once more. "You're blushing again, Lucy." He said, voice full of amusement and maybe something a little darker.

"Who's to say I don't want you again?" She said, gathering enough courage to smirk at him, watching the slight shift in his demeanour. "Hmm, Natsu-?" She stopped when he grabbed her wrist.

"I think we need that shower." Was all he said as he stood up and dragged her to the bathroom, not giving her a second glance.

Shortly after entering the bathroom, Natsu was quick to pin Lucy against the tiled wall, attacking her sensitive flesh with his needy mouth, her hands pulling and knotting into his damp hair. Hot steamy water gushed down their slick bodies, as they joined together in blissful pleasure. They were in for a busy night, who really knows how long they were in that shower for? The uninhibited noises that soared through the air and out of the little house would have put a blush on even Gildarts' face.

When they finally re-emerged from the bathroom, it was hard to say whether they looked any fresher than before. Damp, clammy and completely unable to stop touching each other, they eventually managed to get into some comfortable night clothes, or just underwear in Natsu's case. Both mages collapsed onto the bed, worn-out from their 'practice,' barely able to keep their eyes open.

Lucy managed to find the strength to look up at Natsu, his eyes were barely open, but he was definitely looking at her through a sleepy haze with the most contented smile on his face. He was so handsome, Lucy didn't think it was possible for him to look any more appealing but after tonight, she'd seen him in a way that she only ever envisaged in her day dreams and it just made him all the more attractive to her. How did she get so lucky? She had the most wonderful life and it really was all thanks to him. He'd given her everything a person could ever want and more than anything else, he'd given himself to her and there was nothing that could compare.

"Have I got something on my face? You've been staring for a while now, Lucy." Natsu said, opening one eye wider than the other, sporting a sly smile.

"Yeah, I think you have…" She murmured, reaching up to his face, only millimetres from his mouth and chuckled at his confused expression, "…right here." Her gaze flickered down from his eyes to his used mouth, still swollen from their previous activities and met their lips in a slow and sweet kiss.

It gave her butterflies, the same butterflies she felt from when they shared their first kiss. It was tender and warm, the complete opposite of their previous lip locking. The kiss was simply just that, there were no darker intentions this time, just her and Natsu showing their love in the simplest way possible.

Lucy, not realising just how tired she was, accidentally let out a yawn into Natsu's face. Slapping her hands over her mouth she blushed from embarrassment like always, tickling Natsu's funny bone. Deciding to call it a night, both mages snuggled up to one another, bodies burning from sheer exhaustion but neither paying it much attention, too taken by the happiness pooling in their bellies. They fell asleep almost instantly, after the night that they'd had, who could really blame them?

"Lucy…" She heard someone whisper, then felt a soft nudge on her shoulder, stirring her from her slumber. In her sleepy state she batted the persons hand away, not impressed that they were currently stealing her from her dreams. "Lucy, wake up!" They said a little louder this time but still not enough to fully rouse her. Couldn't they just leave her alone for five more minutes? She hadn't had a nice dream in months and now it was fading into the recesses of her mind as her consciousness gradually took hold. "Come on, Luce, I've got a surprise for ya, but you gotta open your eyes first." Natsu? That was weird! Natsu usually slept in later than she did, so why would he have woken up before her? Curiosity getting the better of her, she opened her eyes, initially blinded by the blaring sun beaming onto her face, casting a glow around Natsu so that she could barely see him anyway.

"Surprise? Natsu, I'm still really tired, we didn't go to sleep until late last night and I don't think I'm ready for the day just yet." She said, rubbing at her eyes to clear them of sleep and trying to focus on the dragon slayer in front of her.

"That's alright, Luce, I just wanted to show you something that's all." He said, placing something warm and wriggly beside her.

Still finding it hard to focus she felt it with her hand, it was soft and… moving? Then it let out a cute little gurgle. Recognising that sound immediately, her eyes shot open to gawk at the smiley little baby that had been placed beside her. "Hey there little man! Mommy missed you so much!" She beamed, pulling him close to her so that she could cuddle up to him. Little Haru recognised his mothers scent instantly and started to giggle when she placed lots of little kisses all over his tiny chubby face. Lucy was over the moon to see her baby after a whole day of being away from him.

Natsu, who was perched on the edge of the bed, watched them both as they were reunited. He looked on in fondness, listening to Lucy put on that silly voice again and speak to Haru as if he knew what she were saying, asking him about his sleepover at Mira's and what a cool time he must have had. It was truly beautiful, even after watching her do this exact thing many times over the past couple of months, it never ceased to amaze him what a wonderful mother she'd become to Haru. His smile turning into a huge grin, he felt so happy to have everyone back together again, well except Happy who hadn't shown his face yet. Natsu had to wonder if he was ever going to come home, probably too busy stuffing his face with the fish that he'd caught.

Lucy looked up at Natsu and grinned back at him, love pouring out of every pore on her body. She sat up and held Haru in her arms, rocking him softly and watching him slowly fall asleep. It'd only been a day, but it felt so much longer than that since she'd seen him. She felt content to have him back in her hold, safe and sound and just as sweet as ever.

"So, was he a good boy for them? Or do I really need to ask?" She chuckled, unable to rip her eyes away from the little bundle now snoring lightly in her arms.

"Actually, they had a lot of trouble with him…" He said nonchalantly, watching as Lucy's eyes widened. Getting the reaction he wanted, he continued, "...They said they won't be able to take him again, something about him being a total sweetheart or whatever." He waved his hand dismissively, holding his gaze whilst Lucy worked through what he was saying.

"Hey! I almost believed you then!" She exclaimed.

Natsu's mouth curved upwards, surely she should know by now that Haru was a little angel for just about anyone. Even Gray with his cold, stoic exterior had warmed to him when he and Juvia had babysat. The slayer chuckled at her reaction, thinking it best if he explained. "I woke up early this morning and saw you were still sleeping, so decided instead of waiting around, to go and get Haru."

"Well, that was very thoughtful of you! And what a lovely little surprise it was!" She slid over to the edge of the bed, trying to remain as steady as possible so Haru didn't wake, she turned her head to the dragon slayer and smiled, "Also, I didn't have any bad dreams last night, I think your plan worked, Natsu."

"Of course it did, I told you I believed in you! You just needed to see for yourself what a strong mage you were." He said, smirking a little at what he was about to say next, "And… I'm sure after last night, you've had other things on your mind, right, Luce?"

Her eyes widened as the memories of the previous evening came flooding back to her. She could feel herself getting hotter by the second and yet, there was Natsu just sitting beside her like butter wouldn't melt, watching with intent as the growing fever slowly took hold of her body. It wasn't that she felt embarrassed by what'd happened, it was more trying to wrap her head around the fact it'd actually happened, a few times and just how impassioned it all was. She could feel herself getting worked up by the mere memory of Natsu being on her. It was such an amazing night, he'd been so attentive and affectionate, was that how it was going to be between them from now on? Because if so, she didn't know how she was meant to keep her hands to herself.

"Something like that, Natsu." She said, snapping out of her daze, no longer looking through him but directly into his sharp green eyes. She leaned closer to him, after all those dirty thoughts his lips looked too enticing to pass up. Understanding washing over him, he took it upon himself to join them together, having wanted to taste her sweet mouth since the moment he woke up.

"You guys are gross!" Happy exclaimed, flying in through the bedroom window. He wasn't necessarily embarrassed by his two best friends kissing in front of him, entirely use to their weird ways by now. He was more baffled by why they felt the need to do it than anything else. "I don't get it Natsu, what's so great about Lucy's mouth that you'd want to eat her?"

Lucy jumped back away from Natsu, still not overly fond of doing that sort of thing with an audience. Natsu on the other hand, didn't seem to care, he'd do it in front of the entire guild if Lucy wanted to, if people didn't like it then that was their problem. The dragon slayer turned his head to the exceed, totally ignoring his previous comment and greeted him with the biggest smile, "Hey little buddy, did you catch any fish?"

"Sure did, Natsu! And I was totally gonna eat 'em too but Lily said I had to put them back once I'd caught them, which was super unfair! They looked so big and yummy as well!" He whined, flying over to Natsu and placing himself in his lap.

"Don't worry, next time I'll go fishing with you, then you can eat as many as you want. Maybe I'll bring Haru along too, what do you say?" Natsu said, placing his hand on Happy's head to comfort him whilst looking over to Lucy for approval of his idea.

"That'd be cool! We can show him how to catch all the big ones! Actually, that reminds me, I went to the guild quickly before coming home and Mira said she forgot to tell you earlier, Natsu, that Master Makarov wants to see you both in private at some point today, but she didn't say why?" Happy said, taking his little bag from his back and placing it on the bed.

Lucy and Natsu turned to each other, curiosity written on their faces. Neither understanding why the master would want to see them so suddenly, but it must be of some importance if he wanted to see them in alone. Not having time to think too much into it, Happy broke the silence. "Oh, and Cana gave me a load these things for you guys too. She said that it was important for Natsu to use them to prevent any accidents, whatever that means?"

"Well, that sounds rather ominous…" Lucy furrowed her brows. She looked back over to Natsu again who appeared just as sceptical, neither were entirely convinced that 'things' from Cana were ever good, but unfortunately there was only one way to find out. Happy made quick work of emptying the contents of his little sack and tons of small square shaped packets fell out on to the bed. Lucy's eyes widened instantly, understanding exactly what they were, she couldn't believe her eyes, there were condoms scattered all over their bed and the blonde didn't know where to look.

Natsu, on the other hand, stared at them a little longer, clueless as to what in the world they were. "Er, Luce, what are those?" He looked to Lucy and saw her blush the deepest shade of red he'd ever seen. Whatever they were, it obviously had something adult behind it but he couldn't figure out what. He picked one up and inspected it closely, trying to work it all out.

"Oh my-! Natsu, put that down!" She squeaked, snatching it out of the slayers hand and throwing it back onto the bed.

"Hey! I was only looking!" Natsu pouted, finding it somewhat amusing at how flustered Lucy had become, even if he didn't know the reason why just yet.

"She also gave me this for you, Lucy. Cana said if the first things should fail, you'd be needing this." Happy handed her a rectangular box, not entirely sure himself what all of it meant.

Lucy peered down at the object in her hand, and nearly fell off the bed after reading what it was. She wanted the ground to swallow her whole, she could barely breathe, the embarrassment that was clearly showing on her face was almost too much to bare. Cana was going to get it big time! She wasn't usually one for violence but this time the brunette deserved it. Lucy stood abruptly, chucking her 'gift' back onto the bed and handed the baby to Natsu.

"I'm going to kill her..." Was the only explanation she offered before swiftly turning and strutting off downstairs, slamming the front door behind her and bolted in the direction of the guild, whip and celestial keys grasped firmly in her hand.

Natsu and Happy stared at each other, totally clueless as to what any of that was all about. Both overly curious to know what had caused Lucy to react in such a way, Natsu picked up the box that she had thrown down and skimmed over it, stopping when he saw big black writing on the front.

"Home pregnancy test…? Why would Lucy-?"

Confused, the slayer read it aloud a few more times, knitting his brows together until the words formed meaning in his head. He snapped his head down to all the little squares on the bed, eyes widening like saucers before returning his gaze to the box in his hand. The words came back into view, his cheeks slowly darkening as everything began to make sense.

"Lucy really is gonna kill her!" Natsu muttered under his breath.

"Wait, is Lucy going to lay an egg? And what are all these things? I don't get it, Natsu!" Happy exclaimed, he wasn't following any of this, why was Lucy so flustered? Why had she stormed off? What were all these little packets? And why wasn't anyone telling him anything?!

"Um, well…" He looked back down at the mess on the bed, deciding he didn't feel up to having 'the talk' with Happy right now. "…Not an egg exactly. Let's just say, Cana is in for the beating of her life once Lucy gets a hold of her."

Natsu grimaced at the mere thought, not entirely sure whether he should try and stop Lucy or just let her go full beast mode on the card wielders ass. Maybe he was rubbing off on her a little? Either way, he'd want to be there to watch it all unfold and they were wanted by the master anyway so what better excuse? He grabbed Haru's baby bag and ran out of the door, Haru and Happy in-tow, to catch up with his enraged girlfriend before she actually ended up killing somebody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed this smutty chapter. My updates are becoming further and further apart, which I apologise for. During lockdown it was easier to upload every two weeks but now with being at work again and running around after a two year old, it's taking a bit longer to write them. Chapter 11 is already on it's way! Thank you for all the continued support! :)


	11. We're In This Together

It'd been a very odd morning, Natsu had never imagined the day after his first sexual experience to be so turbulent. He pictured him and Lucy snuggling up in bed together taking it easy, not her running off and threatening to beat the ever loving crap out of one of their friends, regardless of whether they deserved it or not.

He'd not long made it to the guild when all hell had broke loose. He'd arrived just in time to watch Lucy tackle Cana to the floor, which, thankfully, hadn't ended with either seriously hurt. Lord knows how he'd gathered the courage to separate the two beasts, in the end he'd needed the assistance of not only Gray but Gajeel as well. The bedlam that had ensued was enough to put frighteners on even the great Titania, who luckily hadn't shown her face until after. Natsu cringed at the very thought of her getting involved, that would not have ended well for anyone.

It had been one hell of a clash between the two friends, all that could be heard echoing through the great hall was Cana's maniacal laughter and Lucy's hysterical shrieking. Natsu had to admit, even though he'd been the one to stop her, watching Lucy be a total badass as she elegantly switched between star dresses and the way she held her own was a sure fire way to get his blood pumping. Screw sexy lingerie and skimpy outfits, he'd take watching Lucy fight any day! Maybe he could even get her to use her star dresses in the bedroom? Now there was food for thought and it was making him drool.

Aside from Natsu's kinky thoughts, once he'd managed to pull her off of the card wielder, kicking and screaming he might add, he'd dragged her over to a secluded bench and sat her down, giving her time to take a few deep breaths. Master Makarov had appeared in the main hall not long after, probably to see what all the commotion was about. Sighing in relief to see the building still intact, he'd caught sight of the two mages he'd wanted to see and gestured for them to go with him, not wanting anyone else to follow.

And now here they were, sitting across from the Master who was currently speaking complete gibberish to the baby he'd insisted on holding. Natsu still didn't understand why people did that, it made them look insane! Aside from Lucy that is, she looked adorable when she did it. Haru, seated in the Master's lap, had taken a liking to the poor man's facial hair, tangling his chubby hands into it and tugging, making the old man wince from his strong grip. Even though it was obviously hurting, he couldn't bring himself to stop the chuckling baby, not when the little guy was finding it ever so funny.

"You two are doing a great job at looking after this little man, he's come a long way since the beginning and he's much bigger now too." Makarov told them, but didn't spare either a single glance as he spoke, too preoccupied with entertaining the infant.

"Thanks Master, that means a lot to us." Lucy said, smiling as the youngster continued to giggle at the older man.

"How're you both finding it all? A blue birdy told me you're now living together?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Yes, we did a few months ago, Natsu extended his house for us all." Lucy said, looking over to Natsu who grinned at her. "And I think we're getting along just fine. It was a little stressful at first but now I couldn't imagine my life without him." Lucy answered, but she wasn't convinced that the Master had pulled them into the back room just to ask how they were. He could have done that in the main hall.

"Lucy's right, it's awesome! Haru is a great kid and I'm proud to call him my son." Natsu beamed, fisting the air in his enthusiasm.

"That's what I like to hear! You both made a very tough decision with barely any time to really think it through, but you've made the most of it and I know everyone in the guild is really happy for you." The old man uttered.

"Thanks Gramps! Was there something else you wanted us for?" Natsu asked, turning to Lucy to see if she was thinking the same. Was this really all the Master wanted to say to them?

Makarov finally looked up to the two mages who were staring at him curiously and sighed. "I guess it's time to tell you the real reason why I asked you in here. I apologise for the unexpected meeting but I have something of great importance that came for you both and it couldn't wait." He said, sporting a serious expression all of a sudden.

"What is it, Master? You mean like a letter?" Lucy asked, the way his face turned stoic had put her on edge in an instant.

"Yes, I ha-" He stopped, hearing whispering coming from outside the room, "Can you hear that?"

"It's Gray, Erza and Happy standing outside the door." Natsu shrugged like it wasn't news to him, "They've been there the whole time."

The Master rolled his eyes, of course there were eavesdroppers, he should've known. "Well, it's up to you two whether you want them in here or not?"

Natsu looked to Lucy and nodded, if they were that desperate to listen in then they might as well join them. The slayer walked over to the locked door and opened it, revealing the surprised group who stumbled into the room and fell at Natsu's feet. He raised an eyebrow at them as they slowly all made eye contact with him, sheepish grins on all of their faces.

"Oh look, the nosey brigade have arrived!" Natsu said sarcastically, crossing his arms as they all ungracefully stood up, treading on each others feet and clashing heads in the narrow door way. "If you were trying to be quiet, you failed! I could hear you all coming a mile off!"

"Yeah, well, not everyone's a freak like you." Gray spat back, clutching at his head after smacking it against the door handle.

"You're just pissed 'cause you got caught snooping!" Natsu taunted, a smirk splitting his features.

"It was Happy's idea, Flame brain! He was the one complaining that you two had gone off and left him again, so blame him!" The ice mage exclaimed, knocking heads with the fire mage and filling the air with testosterone.

"Hey! Don't blame me, you and Erza were sneaking around after them! This was your idea!" The exceed defended, it wasn't his fault that people kept forgetting about him.

They all continued to squabble for a little longer, trying to pass the blame between Gray and Happy as to why they had followed Natsu and Lucy, stopping only when the Master cleared his throat.

"Um, pardon the intrusion Master, we were just, er… Coming to lend our moral support to Natsu and Lucy." Erza stuttered, unable to come up with a good enough excuse for their eavesdropping.

"Whatever you say, just sit down and keep quiet." Makarov gave an exasperated sigh, these kids were going to be the death of him, along with the rest of the damn guild. They filtered in and quickly sat down where they could around Natsu and Lucy. "Right, now that that's sorted… back to what I called you two in here for." He pulled an envelope out from his stacks of paperwork and slid it across the table. They both looked at the paper curiously and saw clearly written in black ink, 'Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia' with the word 'PRIVATE' in large, stamped letters underneath.

"What's this Gramps? It looks kinda important… Is it from the council?!" Natsu began to sweat profusely, thinking back on any times recently where he'd destroyed something, but nothing came to mind. He hadn't been on a mission in months so that couldn't be it. "Have you been destroying things again, Lucy?" He crossed his arms and raised his brow at her, quirking his lips up at her offended, but totally adorable pout.

"I'm not you, Natsu!" She raised her voice at him, then looked down at the envelope again, inspecting it closely. "I don't think this is about our missions is it?" She asked, directing the question more towards the Master, who simply shook his head. He may not have read it himself but like Lucy, he'd caught on pretty quickly. "If that's the case then I don't think I want to open it…" There was only one reason that Lucy could think of for being sent such a letter.

"What's wrong, Lucy? Do you know what it's about?" Happy chipped in, flying over and landing on her lap. Gray and Erza looked just as lost as Natsu did in that moment.

"Surely it can't be that bad? Why don't you wanna open it?" Natsu asked, still very much confused about the whole thing.

Lucy didn't say anything, she cast her gaze away from the envelope to look at the sweet baby gurgling away in the Master's arms. She felt her tears well up in her eyes and all she could think was if this was bad news, she didn't know what she was going to do.

Natsu took note of the growing despair in Lucy's eyes and followed her line of vision, landing on the infant. He furrowed his brows for a moment trying to work out what could've upset her so suddenly. "Is this letter about Haru?" He asked, realisation hitting him.

Now he remembered! When they'd first brought Haru home, much to the slayer's chagrin, they'd spent hours and hours filling out stupid amounts of paperwork to send off so that they could officially adopt him. They knew at the time that the adoption process would take a while and that they would have to wait for an answer. After that, he'd put it to the back of his mind and it didn't take long for him to forget about it altogether.

He looked back to Lucy who hadn't said a word since she'd realised what it was herself. Natsu didn't bother waiting for her to answer and went to pick up the letter, wanting to know what was so awful about it.

"Wait!" He felt Lucy's hand grab the wrist that he'd reached out towards the table and halted his movements, peering back over to her and tilting his head in confusion. "W-What… What if it's bad news?"

"Why would it be bad news, Luce?" He asked, not fully understanding the problem yet. If it was just to say they could keep him, then that was good wasn't it?

"You have to understand how diligent they are! They could take a disliking to one silly little thing and it can turn the tables against us." She could feel the dread come up from her stomach into her chest, what would they do? "Don't you understand? Bad news means they'll take him from us and give him to someone else and we'll never see him again."

"Never see him again? Over my dead body! How can you be sure it's bad? It might not-"

"But what if it is? What do we do then?" The tears finally fell, coming down like torrents and that's when it dawned on Natsu that Lucy's fear was a very real possibility.

He looked back at the little one and watched him happily inspect his fingers, another thing he'd discovered recently. A life without Haru was something Natsu had never considered, why would he want to think of that? His heart picked up speed a little and a sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Haru was their son, no one had a right to take him from them, not even that birth father of his. It was the whole point of going through this ridiculous adoption process in the first place, to keep him safe and with them, forever.

That being said, Natsu also wasn't one for conforming to the rules, if they'd decided that him and Lucy weren't suitable enough, then he would fight with every last slither of determination to keep Haru with them, no matter the cost.

"Can they really do that, Gramps? After everything Natsu and Lucy have done for Haru, they can just take him?" Gray asked, if that were the case then that was absolute bullshit and so unfair!

"I'm afraid so, it can be a ruthless system." Makarov explained, shifting the baby in his lap so that he was now facing his parents, smiling happily when he caught sight of them.

"In the end, the one that suffers the most is the innocent child stuck in the middle of it all." Erza expanded, feeling nothing but sympathy as she gazed at Lucy, who looked totally distraught by the idea of losing little Haru.

"I'm not gonna let that happen!" Everyone heard and turned swiftly to the dragon slayer, his sight was fixed on the baby, determination in his voice. He looked at everyone in turn, gauging their shocked expressions before landing on Lucy, who still had tears flowing down her cheeks. He reached his hand out and interlaced his fingers with hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "No matter what that letter says, Haru's ours, Lucy, he'll always be ours." His voice sounded firm and assured, but a shadow was cast over his eyes, making it hard for Lucy to read his face. She could tell the very idea of this all going sideways was affecting him way more than he was letting on.

He sighed loudly, hoping that all this worry was for nothing. He looked over to Lucy to make sure she was okay and then over to Haru, unable to contain his smile as he watched the little one suck on his tiny fists.

"Are you ready, Lucy?" He asked, picking the envelope up and opening it.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She replied, worry thickly coating her voice.

"Dear Mr Dragneel and Miss Heartfilia,

This letter has been formally written to you to update you on the adoption application you made to us for the infant known as Haru.

It is to our understanding that he is currently living with you both at your permanent residence in the city of Magnolia, Fiore and has done so since early Spring of this year. From the information given to us by yourselves and the current Master of the mages guild, Fairy Tail, in which you are both long serving members, this is what we have concluded:"

"Wow, I've never heard Natsu sound so official before, you should speak like that more often, makes it sound like you gotta brain." Gray butted in and sniggered, trying to lighten the mood a little, gaining nothing but a clip around the head from Erza.

"Shut it, Frosty! It's not my fault it's worded so weirdly!" Natsu spat back, scowling at the Ice mage. "If you're so smart, why don't you read it!"

"Be quiet! This is an important matter and I don't want either of you to start fighting at a time like this." Erza demanded, voice stern and intimidating, shutting both boys up.

"Give it here…" Lucy huffed and snatched the letter from Natsu's hand, deciding it best if she were to carry on in his place. She cleared her throat and began where Natsu had finished.

"As you are aware, the law states that a child may be re homed permanently in very exceptional circumstances which are listed below for your reference;

1\. The birth parents choose and/or grant permission to give up their child for reasons they believe would benefit the child.

2\. The safety and/or well-being of the child have been greatly compromised because of abuse and/or neglect inflicted upon them by their birth parents.

3\. Both birth parents perish and the child has no other close friends or relatives that can willingly take responsibility for them.

In this circumstance, we decided category one only applied. We recently made contact with the child's only living relative, his birth father, to attain information regarding his relationship with his biological child. After much discussion, it was clear that he did not want to be a part of the child's life, believing himself to be incapable of meeting the child's needs at this difficult time."

"Pfft… Incapable of meeting his needs, you can say that again…" Natsu scoffed, gaining everyone's attention.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled, getting irritated by his need to interrupt her.

"Sorry, it just made me laugh that's all!" He shrugged, backing down when Lucy glared at him.

"After advising him that it was in the child's best interest to remain with his current living situation with yourselves, he subsequently agreed to relinquish all parental responsibility and henceforth, no longer has any lawful right to the child.

As a result, we would like to congratulate you on the successful adoption of your son, Haru Dragneel and will post his new birth records to you in due course. We wish you both the very best with your new family."

Once she'd finished reading she placed the paper down and the room fell silent for a moment, allowing the news to sink in. She gaped at her partner, noticing the huge grin forming in his cheeks. But before he could say anything, she leapt out of her seat and flung herself at him, accidentally shoving him off of the chair and down to the ground, both landing in a heap of tangled limbs.

"He's ours! Oh my god Natsu, he's officially ours!" She squealed, unable to contain her excitement and relief.

Before anyone could react, the sound of Haru's infectious laughter filled the air, brightening the room. Watching his Mommy fall on top of his Daddy like that had tickled his funny bone. Natsu and Lucy grinned like idiots, bringing their foreheads together and revelling in the sweet sound of their baby's amusement. The others watched on at the tender moment, grins all plastered on their faces as they stood to congratulate the ecstatic couple.

"I guess now you really have officially beaten me, Natsu. You know you choosing to be a father to a child that isn't yours takes guts, I respect that, but now it's on to see who can have the most kids." Gray sniggered as he darted out of the room, probably to go and find Juvia…

Natsu, unable to fire back at Gray before he left, looked up at Lucy and smirked, "Don't even think about it!" She stared him down, "I am not spending the rest of my youth popping out children for you to win some stupid bet against Gray!"

"Dang it! But Lucy, he's gonna win! Juvia's not gonna say no!" He whined, of course with mirth, trying to wind her up as always, which was clearly working.

"What a joyous day this is! I'm so happy for you both!" Erza's face lit up like she was planning something as she walked out of the door.

"So kids, I'm glad we got a happy ending because that could've turned out much worse and I don't think the guild hall would've stood a chance against Natsu's fiery temper. I'm going for a drink before my heart gives out and this little guy is coming with me." Makarov said as he too left the room with Haru still happily playing in his arms.

Happy flew over, the last one left in the room, hoping he wouldn't catch a glimpse of the pair being all gross with each other. "So I guess I am officially his big brother now, which means I have an exclusive right to teach him how to wind Lucy up, in fact, I think I better go start now. Wait for me, Master!" He giggled at Lucy's unimpressed face and flew out of the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving just the two of them, alone.

Natsu reached his hand up to her cheek to bring her attention back to him and caressed it softly with his thumb, taking in her beautiful features whilst feeling a sense of calm. Everything had fallen into place and he was overjoyed by the good news. No more worrying, (not that he did much anyway) Haru was all theirs and they could now look to the little ones future, to their future as a family.

"I love you so much, Lucy." His voice was soft and sweet, a total opposite to his usual destructive personality. Lucy leaned her face towards his, her heart pounding in her chest and filling with warmth from his words. She could barely contain her grin as they locked eyes with one another, her lips brushing up against his.

"I love you too, Natsu. I'm so happy!" She met his lips with a sweet but smouldering kiss. Lucy felt her skin heat up at his very touch, and her body tremored from the excess adrenaline pumping through it.

They continued their make out session for a little while longer, completely lost in each other. They were both overwhelmed with pure elation by the outcome of that letter, even though in reality, nothing would actually change. Their lives would carry on as it was, but now at least they had that security of Haru remaining with them indefinitely.

Their kiss slowly burned into something more heated, reminiscent of the previous night, especially when Lucy's hips rubbed against Natsu's groin, causing him to growl into her mouth. It was like something had awoken within them and all the pent up emotions were leaking out in more frenzied movements, turning lustful the more they touched each other.

Lucy detached her lips from Natsu's mouth and slowly made her way down to his neck, grazing over his scar there and sending shivers through his body. She snaked her hands down to his pants and began to rub the awakening dragon through his clothes, feeling him twitch excitedly under her hand. His eyes rolled back into his head and he let out a harsh breath, relishing in the firmness of her strokes. But before all sense of sanity travelled south, he grabbed at her wrist, halting her movements and gauging her shocked expression.

"I don't think now is a good time, Luce. Anyone could walk in, which they will if we don't show our faces soon." He said, trying to compose himself, but man, did her hand feel good on him! It wasn't him that had the problem with being caught, he just knew Lucy wouldn't like that. He could picture her mortified face clearly, she'd be so utterly horrified, she'd probably never want to touch him again and he couldn't have that!

"You're right, I guess." She sat up, disappointment clear in her voice, feeling a little saddened that Natsu had declined her advances. She looked to the door when something caught her eye. "That door has a lock on it…" She looked at him with the biggest shit eating grin and went to stand, pulling Natsu up with her.

"That desperate, huh?" He teased, leaning against the desk with his leg crossed over the other and his arms folded over his chest, looking smug. "You know a locked door won't stop them, right?"

"Dammit! Fine, let's go and join them then…" She sighed deflated, turning to walk out of the door but stopped when Natsu pulled her back to him, caging her against the desk he was previously leaning on.

"And where do you think you're running off to?" He growled against her ear, sucking her lobe and making her quiver. He could see the slight confusion in her face as he carried out his ministrations.

"B-But, I-I thought you said…" She stammered.

"Don't think I don't want to, Lucy. I'd love nothing more than to bend you over this table right now and fuck you until you scream my name." She gasped at the brashness of his words, feeling her legs turn to jelly at the mere thought of Natsu doing that. He touched his lips down to her jaw, leaving sensual open mouthed kisses all the way down to her mouth, then stopped and smirked whilst eyeing her plump lips, waiting for her to speak.

She said nothing, she could barely breathe from the intense glare that Natsu was giving her and the way he was speaking… it made her shudder! She could feel herself moisten down below from the sheer sexiness of his demeanour. Where did he learn to act like this? Lucy was sure if he kept it up, she'd be a blonde puddle on the floor.

The boy grabbed both of her cheeks and pulled her to him, pressing their lips together and enjoying the smoothness of her tongue as it danced with his. He pulled away all too soon causing Lucy to whimper at the loss of contact. "Come on Luce, let's go join the others. We'll continue this later." He winked at her blushing face, taking her hand and leading them out of the door.

As soon as they entered the main hall, a stream of cheers and clinking of glasses filled the room. Obviously someone had opened their mouths and told them all about the good news, probably Happy… or Erza? Lucy should have guessed they'd use any excuse for a party. They walked on over to the bar where Haru was laying calmly beside Makarov, babbling away and sucking on his fists again.

"Congrats guys! I'm so happy for you both!" Levy said from the side, she beamed at them. "Happy told us all about your letter, in fact I think he told everyone."

Lucy rolled her eyes, she really did have to have words with that damn cat, he needed to learn to keep his mouth shut every once in a while. "Thanks Levy, it's such a relief!" Lucy sat herself down, about to reach over to Haru when Natsu got there first.

"It's my turn, Luce. You changed him last time." He said, picking up the little one and scrunching up his nose at the horrific smell lingering around the baby. Holding his breath, he proceeded to change the baby on a nearby bench, burning the soiled diaper to get rid of the stench. Natsu dressed him in fresh clothes and wrapped his scaly scarf around him to keep him warm. He picked Haru up, cuddling him close to his chest and smiled, "Does that feel better little guy? You know for such a small person, you make one hell of a smell!" Haru simply smiled at his father, knowing full well that after a diaper change he was always rewarded with milk time and boy, did he look forward to that!

"I think someone's hungry!" Natsu chuckled at the little boy, who was now sucking the life out of the scarf and making cute little noises. He walked back over to Lucy and sat down beside her. She passed a fresh bottle for the slayer to warm in his hand, placing it into the infants mouth who accepted it greedily. Both Natsu and Lucy smiled fondly at the little one, lost in their own little baby bubble as they watched him guzzle down his bottle. The soft voice of one of their friends breaking them out of their daze.

"You know, seeing you like this Natsu, reminds me of when we first found Happy's egg and played house all the time as kids." Lisanna said from the other side of the bar, she'd been watching Natsu with the baby and it had brought fond memories back to her of their childhood together. "I always thought you'd make a good Daddy one day!"

"Oh, um, thanks!" Natsu replied, blushing a little at the unexpected compliment. He looked up at the girl who was leaning over the bar, propping her head up with both arms, smiling fondly at the fire mage.

"It still amazes me that you've managed to keep him alive for so long. You could barely take care of yourself until Lucy came along." Gray sniggered as he waltzed on over to the bar. "And I bet she's still constantly cleaning up after you!"

"That's rich coming from an idiot not wearing any underwear." Natsu eyed the ice mage, watching him jump when he looked down at himself and realised he was completely naked. "Go find your pants man! I don't want Haru learning your freaky stripping habits."

"And I don't want him picking up on either of your stupid fighting habits!" Lucy butted in before another fight broke out, silencing the two males immediately. "Haru is a sweet boy, I'd like to keep him that way!" She smiled and reached out a hand to stroke the baby's head.

"He's definitely got an appetite like Natsu's." Wendy giggled, smitten with the little one. "But he still might end up like you, Lucy."

"One can only hope!" Lucy chuckled at Natsu's pretend hurt expression. "What? Let me have something, I am the only girl in the house, it's only fair!" She giggled, laying her head on Natsu's shoulder, both watching their little one finish his milk.

"Ugh, you guys are so pure, it hurts me!" Cana exclaimed, smacking her drink down on the bar top, making every mage present jump. She was obviously very drunk at this point, allowing her mouth to run away with her even more than usual. "Come on, let's get this party started!"

"Actually, Natsu and I are gonna head out, Haru's run out of milk and he gets hungry pretty quickly." She chuckled, not sparing the drunk girl a single glance, too enraptured by the cute baby.

"Don't make excuses! You guys are just eager to get home and use your new presents! Don't want any accidents now do we?" Cana grinned evilly at Lucy, who'd gone wide eyed and quiet at the brunette's words. Natsu stiffened and chanced a glance over at the two girls. He didn't want to have to deal with this again, not after this morning!

"Presents? What presents? Was it your birthday or something, Lucy?" Levy asked, not taking notice of the sudden tense atmosphere. She was sure Lucy's birthday wasn't for a few months yet?

"On that note, I think we should head out! Come on, Luce, off we go!" Natsu stood abruptly, grabbing hold of the blonde who looked just about ready to blow. If looks could kill… "Bye everyone, see you tomorrow!" He shouted through Cana's howling, fleeing out of the door with Haru in one hand and Lucy in the other.

He ran as fast as he could away from the guild hall, surprised by the lack of resistance from his partner but didn't want to let go just in case. Once they reached their house, Natsu flung the door open and pulled Lucy inside, locking it behind him before she could run back and give Cana a piece of her mind. Taking a long, deep breath, he watched her walk over and slump down onto the couch and let out her own sigh.

Natsu walked over and placed a very sleepy Haru in the basket next to the couch, tucking his scaly scarf over the little one to keep him warm. Turning his attention back to Lucy, he perched himself next to her, wondering what could have dampened her mood so unexpectedly.

"You okay, Luce? You're being very quiet… Did Cana get to you that much?" His voice laced with concern for her change in behaviour, hoping that bringing up the card wielder wouldn't set her off again.

"Oh, er, no, she's harmless really…" She trailed off, looking down at her lap and fiddling with the hem of her shirt, feeling those nervous bubbles take residence in her belly again.

"Are you sure? You can tell me if something's bothering you." He said, placing his hand on her thigh and began to softly stroke it. He could see that she was hesitant about branching any further into what was on her mind. He took her hands in his and moved to face her directly, staring deep into her averted eyes, catching the uncertainty in them. "Luce, I can't help if you don't tell me."

Taking a deep breath, she attempted to explain to him the problem, "I-It's what Cana said when we left the guild. We, um, forgot something when we, you know… last night and, well…" She faltered, struggling to hold any sort of gaze on his curious face. "And now I-I might, well, we might be, um…"

"Having another baby?" He came straight out with it, gauging her shocked expression.

He'd had a suspicion that it was something along those lines because of how Lucy had gone strangely quiet on the way home after Cana had teased her about using the condoms. Ever the immature idiot, Natsu was more perceptive than people gave him credit for, especially when it came to Lucy, he could read her like an open book.

Lucy snapped her head to his, eyes wide open and her mouth agape like she'd just seen a ghost. She could feel the panic rise up the more she played out what he'd just said over and over in her mind. Only thinking it in her head up until that point, but hearing it said out loud was a whole different ball game.

"And you were worried about what I might think, if you told me?" His expression remained neutral but firm. He knew he'd guessed right because of the way she'd reacted when he'd said it. The fire breather was sure he could hear the rapid beat of her heart hammering against her chest and the fact her cheeks had turned the darkest shade of red with beads of sweat forming on her brow, gave her away before she'd even said anything.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, Natsu, I've ruined everything! I don't know how I forgot, and now I don't know what to do, it only takes one time for it to happen! Was it nerves? Or maybe I-" She tried to keep her voice down for Haru's sake, but she was struggling to stop the words from flooding out of her mouth.

Natsu pressed his lips to hers to stop her from rambling, taking her by surprise. He felt a few stray tears touch his face, making his heart clench in sympathy for her. Waiting for her to calm down, he pulled away after a few moments, placing his forehead on hers. His eyes were closed for now and his breath was slow and even. Lucy waited nervously for him to say something, anything… yet he remained calm and quiet. She hadn't expected him to be this relaxed about it, but then this was Natsu after all, he always looked on the brighter side of things.

"Shh, it's alright Lucy. Accidents happen, so you don't have to be sorry. I take half the blame because it takes two remember?" He opened his eyes, his voice was soothingly gentle, allowing her to calm herself down a little and think more clearly. "Would it be so bad if we were to have another little one?" He waited a moment to see if she would answer. Her eyes flickered between his as she digested his question, would it be that bad?

"It's just, I-I don't… I-I'm not sure if I'm-" She stuttered, barely managing to get the words out as he stared so intently at her, gauging the fear still present in her expression.

"I get that the idea is scary, Luce, I'm not gonna pretend otherwise, but we managed it with Haru, right? And he's doing just fine!" He smiled, not one to dwell on the past but feeling it necessary for her to know his true feelings on the matter. "I didn't know the first thing about babies when we took Haru in and neither did you, but we learnt and now look at where we are. Sure, I worried about doing right by him, especially in those first weeks, but it was worth the struggle for his happiness. To see his smile and to hear him laugh is reward enough." He looked down and sighed, "Because I realised that none of those worries even comes close to how scared I was today, when I realised that my little boy could be taken from me. The fear of having him was nothing compared to the fear of losing him."

"I had no idea you felt that way, Natsu, you always seem so optimistic. Why didn't you say? I could've helped you through it." Lucy said, shocked by just how open he was being with her, it was a rare occurrence to hear him speak so freely about his feelings.

"You helped me by being there, Lucy. Which is exactly what I'm trying to tell ya! If there were a tiny chance of a baby making itself at home in there, then that would be okay with me, because they'd be ours, just like Haru." He said pressing his hand to her stomach, filling her with warmth and comfort as he smiled lovingly at her. "I'll always be there for you, no matter what happens because we're always gonna be together."

He pulled Lucy closer and wrapped her in his arms, breathing in her sweet scent. He looked down at her flat stomach and allowed himself to imagine for a single moment that one day a new life, that they'd created together, would be growing just below where his hand lay, one he would welcome wholeheartedly. He quickly shook the image from his mind, leaning his head on her shoulder and taking another deep breath, relaxing himself. Feeling just that little bit lighter for getting all that off of his chest.

"Thank you, Natsu. I can always count on you." Lucy smiled, looking over at the infant snoring away with the scarf still resting near his mouth. The slayer was right, it didn't matter because they were always going to be together.

"So... does that mean I still have a chance at winning that bet against Gray then?" He grinned mischievously, waiting for her inevitable reaction.

"Natsu!" Her face tinting pink again at what he was implying. "Absolutely not!"

"I'm kidding, Lucy! I know you're not ready for that just yet." He smiled, hoping that would bring her much needed comfort. She grinned back at him, feeling relief take over her entire form. "And now thanks to Cana and all of those condoms on our bed, we can get in a load of practice." He said, leaning forwards and attacking the sensitive skin on her neck, hearing her heart rate increase and a sharp breath pass her lips.

"Hmm, I do believe we have some unfinished business to attend to?" She smirked, tugging at his hair while he sucked and nipped at her already swollen lips.

Feeling a fire in his belly, he was quick to drag her up the stairs, placing the little one in his own room while they occupied their bedroom. Their movements became erratic, unable to get enough of the other. Pure lust filled the air as they ravaged each other's bodies, making them yearn for more contact, more pleasure. Natsu released himself from the confines of his pants and slid his shaft up and down Lucy's soaking wet entrance, eliciting soft moans from the sweet torture he was giving her. With one fluid movement he sheathed himself within her, groaning from the intense pressure created.

"Mm, it feels so good, Natsu!" She breathed harshly, furrowing her brows as she got use to having him inside her once again.

"I haven't even started yet, Lucy, I hope you're ready for a long night!" He teased, pulling himself out then thrusting back in, making himself grunt and Lucy cry out in ecstasy.

He leaned down and mashed their lips together, his tongue massaging hers while he pulsed deeply into her, making her moan loudly into him. Sweat was pouring off of his face as he increased in speed, wanting to elicit as much noise from her beautiful mouth as he could, bringing her and himself closer to the edge. They were completely lost in each other, totally forgetting that they weren't the only one's that lived there.

It was only later that evening, that Happy decided he'd had enough of being at the guild and was ready to go home and sleep. Nearing the little house he'd long called home, he heard something strange coming from the bedroom window. Curiosity getting the better of him, he flew up and peered inside. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head, Natsu and Lucy were wrestling?! No, that didn't seem right, they looked to be enjoying it and were… naked?! Realisation struck him straight in the gut at just what he was playing audience to and let out a horrified shriek, legging it away from the house and back to the guild to tell someone of the horrors that he'd seen.

"My eyes! My eyes!" Lucy heard coming from the distance, she pulled away from Natsu's mouth and stared up at his eyes, looking just as oblivious as always.

"Can you hear something?" She asked, not really sure if it was just her ears playing tricks on her or not.

"I can't really hear anything over your moaning." He sniggered, reattaching himself to her jaw instead.

"I'm being serious! I'm sure I heard someone say something from outside!" She pushed his head away from her so that she could listen clearly without being distracted, but heard nothing.

"Luce, I hear a lot of things, it's probably some animal or whatever, we do live next to woodland." He sighed, trying to calm her nerves so he could get back to the task at hand.

"Hmm… If you're sure?" She wasn't entirely convinced that Natsu hadn't heard it, not with his sensitive hearing and all, but it seemed to have stopped for now.

Beginning where he left off, he leaned back down to kiss her swollen lips, slowly pushing himself back into her and revelling in the beautiful noises she made. He hammered into her until her body quaked as she came undone, yelling Natsu's name to the whole of Magnolia. Hearing her cum so hard, was what finally gave him his own release, groaning through gritted teeth until finally collapsing onto the bed next to her. Peace and exhaustion washing over them both, he smiled at her drowsy, flushed face watching as her eyes closed shut, his own lids following suit as they cuddled up to one another.

Although struggling to think of anything but the gorgeous girl beside him, he did manage to make a mental note to apologise to Happy for what he may or may not have seen from the window. Hoping they hadn't traumatised the cat too much, Natsu definitely had some explaining to do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I do apologise for it taking over a month to come out. Juggling work, a toddler and life in general makes it hard to find time to sit down and write and it doesn't help when I write something and then decide to delete it and then write it all over again... Anyway, thanks for supporting this story, I'll try to get chapter 12 to you as quick as I can!


	12. A Quarrel Between Friends

Natsu sighed, his breath visible in the brisk night air. Unable to sleep, he sat alone outside his house. His mind was distracted, it had been since the quarrel he'd had with his small flying companion.

He never fought with Happy, well, rarely enough for him not to remember anyway and because of it, the Exceed was refusing to speak to him. Sure, they had minor disagreements, tiffs were common place between friends and loved ones, but it never meant anything. This however, was something entirely different, something he knew the cat wouldn't forgive so easily.

"Still thinking about Happy?" A soft voice tore through his thoughts.

He peered over his shoulder at the sleepy blonde standing there, clad in next to nothing, shivering uncontrollably from the crisp autumn breeze.

"I thought you were sleeping?" Natsu replied, ignoring her question completely.

Seeking out a warmth that only the dragon slayer could provide, Lucy plonked herself down next to him and grazed her chilly hands against his bare arm.

"You're freezing! Why didn't you put more clothes on before coming out?" He removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders.

"That's what I got you for! Duh!" She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

Playfully rolling his eyes at her statement, he cradled her hands in his, blowing hot air onto them. Once satisfied she wasn't going to freeze to death, he laid his head on top of hers, contented to have her next to him whilst he felt so down.

It had been a week since the altercation between Natsu and Happy, happening just as they were set to leave on a mission with the whole team. Originally, Natsu had been ecstatic about finally doing a job again with everyone, it'd been so long since they'd all worked together. It was going to be his first mission since Haru was just four weeks old and considering the little one was seven months now, he'd been dying to set something on fire.

But then, everything fell apart.

Distraught, Happy had ditched the job altogether and refused to listen to anyone who tried to persuade him otherwise. Natsu hated the idea of leaving without him in such circumstances, but did not have the luxury of bailing out himself. He and Lucy had another mouth to feed and no matter the situation, Haru came first.

It'd been a long mission, having only just returned home from it. Natsu had hoped after a week apart, the Exceed would've been ready to talk to him, but he'd been very wrong. Happy kept his distance and it was starting to really frustrate the fire mage. He valued all of his friends dearly, but the blue feline held a special place in his heart. The inseparable duo not on speaking terms was almost unfathomable, yet here they were and the poor boy was at a loss on how to make things better.

"So, are you gonna answer my question?" Lucy asked, startling the slayer once again, he'd forgotten she'd even said anything. Trying to remember her question, his mind was too muddled right now to think straight. "I asked if you were still thinking about Happy?"

"How can I not? It's too weird not having him here." Natsu looked down to his lap, feeling an emptiness without his friend at home. "I said I was sorry, what else can I do? I can't change what I did."

"I know, but try to see it from Happy's point of view. I imagine he was just as shocked as everyone else when you reprimanded him like that. You've never done that before." Lucy said, thinking back to the incident.

"I don't know what came over me, I shouldn't have called him irresponsible…"

"Or reckless, or careless, or immature… Sounds like someone else I know, hey Natsu?" She giggled at his cute pout.

"Hey, it's not funny!" He huffed childishly. "In my defence, I thought he had been—at the time! Haru could've gotten seriously hurt if I hadn't been there, but I still regret saying them now." He really did regret it. In the heat of the moment, words were exchanged that he wished he could take back.

They were all at the guild, helping to set up the hall for a local event and Happy had been charged with occupying the baby. The Exceed had sat Haru up on the bar top, having only just mastered the skill of sitting unaided, the infant was still a bit wobbly. Thinking the baby had gotten his balance, the cat let go for just a few seconds. In which time the little guy had fallen forward and toppled head first off of the side and nearly collided with the hard floor.

Luckily, Natsu had seen it happen and just managed to catch Haru in time before his head smacked the ground. The baby, of course, had been none the wiser, giggling and clapping his hands when he'd landed in his fathers firm hold, thinking it all a very fun game.

Although relieved to see that his son was unharmed, the slayer did not hold the same reprieve when he glanced up at his little friend. Happy had apologised profusely to the fire mage, however, pumped with adrenaline from watching Haru fall like that, the slayer hadn't taken a blind bit of notice. Further adding to Happy's mortification, Natsu scolded him like a child in front of the entire guild for how irresponsible he'd been, causing the cat to fly off in a huff.

"You were just being a protective father, no one blames you for that, Natsu. But, Happy didn't do it on purpose, you know that! You just didn't give him chance to explain." Lucy chuckled, shaking her head. Those two were such idiots sometimes! "You've got some grovelling to do when he does finally come home."

"Grovel?! But I already apologised!" He exclaimed, but one look from Lucy made him recoil, the guilt returning. "Fine, fine… Happy's pretty stubborn, if I don't do it, he definitely won't." Natsu sighed.

In the end, the cat hadn't really done anything wrong. It'd been an accident and now the fire mage would have to find some way to make it up to him.

"Why don't you take him fishing, just the two of you? You haven't done that in a while." Lucy asked. She could almost see the light go on in Natsu's brain at the suggestion. "It'll be good for you both to spend more time together, he's your best friend Natsu, you don't want him to feel left out."

"You think he feels left out?" Natsu looked down to his lap again, he didn't want Happy to feel pushed out, especially now that this had happened between them. The blue feline was a valued part of their family and now more than ever, he needed to be reminded of that. "I guess I have been busy with Haru, that I've not really noticed because he's always around."

"Babies do take up a lot of time, but a break to go fishing with Happy every now and then wouldn't hurt. Plus, Haru will be old enough to go with you before long." Over whelmed by how quickly the last seven months had gone, she smiled at all the memories they'd made. "It really has flown by, hasn't it? He was a tiny baby not moments ago and now look at him! Maybe he'll even say his first word soon?"

Natsu turned to look at her, feeling a warmth flood his body at the pretty smile on her face as she thought fondly of their son. "Wouldn't that be awesome?"

He couldn't believe it either, their little baby, the one they found so helpless that day had become such a happy boy, with so much love held within those chubby cheeks when he smiled. He'd grown into a very cute, chunky baby, that they couldn't be prouder of.

Leaving the conversation there, they fell into silence once again, looking out onto the horizon. Well, Lucy was—Natsu had his eyes set on something much more enthralling. Shining brilliantly with the sun, she made his heart flutter excitedly in his chest. The morning light had cast a warm glow to her angelic form, bringing out all of her natural beauty. To put it simply, she was stunning.

"Like what you see, Natsu?" She teased, feeling his eyes burning into her skull. She moved her head to look at him directly, an amused smile dawning her cheeks.

"I always like what I see when I look at you." Lucy felt herself shudder, he was so blunt sometimes but that's what she liked about him, there was no dancing around the bush with Natsu.

Even after being caught gawking, he kept his gaze on her, only this time she was staring right back. The gentleness of his expression made her yearn for his touch, her eyes flickering down to his lips, feeling a tug from an unknown but familiar force to kiss them.

He cupped her soft cheek, quirking his lips up at the delicate pink tinting her skin. Feeling that same yearning, he brought his mouth to hers. Soft, gentle and smooth, with enough pressure to send little vaults of electricity down into her stomach, eliciting a small contented sigh into his mouth. Their lips, having gained plenty of practice in the previous months, meshed together snugly, tongues interloping, losing themselves to the moment of beautiful uninterrupted bliss.

Breaking apart, Lucy stood herself up, a shiver taking over her body suddenly from feeling the bitterness of the wind again. She turned and offered her hand to Natsu and pulled him back inside. Cuddling up together in bed, Lucy hoped Natsu might get some needed rest now.

Lucy had made it her mission to try and take Natsu's mind off of the missing Exceed. He was always so ready to make her happy that for once an opportunity arose where she could repay the favour. She hadn't seen that face splitting grin in too long and was determined to make him smile as much as she could until he started to feel like himself again.

They'd decided to stay home, after a week long mission away from Haru, they wanted to spend some time with him and just relax. The first to wake, Lucy was already downstairs preparing breakfast by the time Natsu got himself up. Haru had been seated in his chair at the table, whilst Lucy busied herself in the kitchen.

"Morning Luce, whatcha making?" He mumbled whilst stretching, looking over to his partner who was busy washing up the pans she'd used for cooking.

"Morning Natsu!" She chirped, smiling sweetly over to him. "I've made your favourite and lots of it, so I hope you're hungry?" She said, plating it up and placing it on the table.

"Awesome! Thanks Lucy, I'm starving!"

He gave her a tired, half smile whilst walking over to the table and sitting down next to Haru, ruffling his hair. "Morning, little guy! What's Mama made you then?" He asked, noticing the baby had covered himself in whatever sticky substance he'd been given to eat. Natsu sniggered at the state the child was in and grabbed a wet cloth to clean him up. "Did you eat any, or just go straight to painting yourself in it?"

"It was little mashed up pieces of fruit. I was gonna feed it to him but he got there before me…" Lucy's sheepish grin made Natsu quirk his lips up and shake his head in amusement.

"Daddy does that as well. Only, I'm not cute like you so Mama likes to yell at me for it!" Natsu jokingly told the baby, turning to the sound of Lucy giggling. He retrieved what was left of the fruit in the bowl and began to spoon it into the little one's hungry mouth. "That's better, now you're actually getting some!"

Once they'd all finished, they sat around and played with Haru for the rest of the morning. Lucy sat back and watched Natsu chuck the baby into the air and catch him again, pretending he could fly. Whilst distracted, he seemed like his normal self, smiling and laughing, but there was still something that felt off, like he was missing that fire in his belly that he was so well known for.

Just as Natsu was about to chuck the infant back into the air, Haru let out a big yawn and began to rub at his eyes. "Did all that super cool flying make you sleepy?" Natsu said, bringing the baby into his chest so that he could snuggle in. Haru had closed his eyes the second his head touched Natsu's shoulder, sleeping soundly in the comforting warmth that surrounded him.

"So cute! Here, I'll take him upstairs to his room." Lucy whispered, gently taking the baby from Natsu and making her way to the stairwell.

Once returning to the living room, Natsu was nowhere to be seen. Lucy knew where he'd gone though, back outside no doubt to keep himself from getting bored. Seeing a bright light coming from the partially open front door, she walked over and peered out of it, watching as he made short work of burning all of the brown leaves with his fire breath, that'd fallen onto the grass around the house, then perched up against the offending tree, looking forlorn once again.

"What's it gonna take to cheer you up?" Lucy muttered under her breath, making her presence known and walking over to him.

"Huh? What do you mean? I'm fine!" Barely believing himself.

"Sure, that's why you're sat out here by yourself, setting leaves on fire?" Raising an eyebrow at him, she sat herself down on the now charred grass, courtesy of Natsu. "What did those leaves ever do to you?"

"They keep falling on my head, that's what!" Feigning annoyance, Natsu caught another leaf mid air and burnt it, making Lucy chuckle. No matter how blue he was, the sound of her laughter always made him feel brighter.

Silence yet again befell them, it was a comfortable silence but Lucy knew better than to assume it was because Natsu didn't have anything to say. She needed to distract him somehow, make him concentrate on something else for a while. Haru was always a good diversion and had been all morning, but he was now fast asleep so she needed to find something else. Then it hit her, she could totally use herself! Ideas flooded her mind at all the ways she could occupy her brooding partner.

Starting off gently, Lucy leaned forward, catching his attention as she ever so slowly brought herself within inches of his face. Natsu watched, a bemused expression taking over as she pressed her lips to his cheek then moved away again, smiling brightly, hoping he'd reciprocate. But to her dismay, he didn't say or do anything other than look at her like she was being weird. She huffed in frustration, this was going to be harder than she thought.

"Alright, cutesy not working for ya? Fine, I can do rough…"

Eyes widening, Natsu had no idea what she meant by that, but was soon to find out when the blonde eagerly plopped herself in his lap and grabbed his head, pulling him forward and taking his lips by force. Lucy mashed their mouths together in such a fierce and scorching kiss, it was enough to make his head spin. It was blisteringly hot, and full of dark promises, plunging her tongue deep into his mouth and nearly choking the poor guy.

He tangled his fingers into her hair, not knowing what else to do with his hands and tightened his grip, causing a light whimper to escape her mouth. Enjoying the roughness far more than expected, Lucy reluctantly pulled away, gasping for air. She stared into his eyes, his dazed and completely bewildered eyes.

"Are you trying to kill me, Lucy!" He panted heavily between each word, struggling to catch his breath, he felt both confused and aroused by her attack.

"Not even that worked?!" Dumbfounded, she couldn't believe a fiery kiss like that hadn't had the desired affect. "Right, well, you asked for it! If this is the only way, so be it!" She got up from his lap onto her feet and turned away, gathering herself for her next assault.

"Asked for what? I didn't ask for – WHOA!" He exclaimed, shocked by her sudden boot clad foot coming straight for his face. Luckily, he'd seen it just in time to push himself up out of the way before she made contact with the side of his head. "What the hell was that for?! I didn't do anything that time, I swear!"

"Fight me!" Were the only words she said.

Using the other foot that was currently holding her weight, she jumped up and round house kicked him straight in the chest, knocking the boy flying back and landing him flat on his ass.

"Aargh! Dammit Lucy, that really hurt!" Gritting his teeth, he rubbed at the sore area where her foot had made contact. He peered up at the cocky looking blonde standing there in a fighting stance. He was so confused, if he hadn't done anything wrong, then why was she trying to fight him? And then he realised… "Wait… fight you?"

"You brawl with everyone else, so why not with me?" She challenged him, knowing that she'd get a reaction from the fire boy eventually, she just had to say the right words. "Or are you scared I might win?"

"You're being serious right now?" Standing back up, Natsu raised his eyebrow at the smirking blonde, he just didn't understand what had come over her. This wasn't like Lucy, she hated fighting. She never got into any guild brawls and rarely chose violence over talking first. "You're not everyone else though? I don't wanna brawl with you, Lucy."

"Why not? I'm perfectly capable! I might even give you a run for your money… Or do you really think I'm that weak?"

Lucy knew that was a low blow and almost back pedalled when she saw the guilt appear in his expression, but she held strong. The blonde wasn't planning on taking it too far, but a little brawl might cheer him up just enough to put a smile back on his face and blow off some steam that he so clearly had built up inside him.

"What?! I never said- Aargh!" Distracted, he was thrown back once again, by yet another lethal kick, to the face this time.

She smirked, starting to feel a little smug at all the hits she was getting in while he was still holding back. Holding his sore cheek, Natsu realised then that he really didn't have a choice in the matter, it was either spar with his weirdo of a girlfriend or become her personal punching bag and that sounded quite painful. With his competitive streak finally seeping through, he stood himself up and wiped the blood from his mouth, dawning a smirk of his own.

"Alright, Luce, you're on! But don't think I'm gonna take it easy on you, you've had your hits, now it's my turn."

In a flash, he was right behind her, about to grab her arms and pin her down on the floor. Having anticipated that he'd go straight for the kill, to try and end this quickly, she threw her head back, crashing straight into Natsu's nose, making him yell out in pain. Lucy swivelled and ducked down whilst he was distracted, taking out his feet and watched him flail, landing him flat on his ass for the third time.

"Ow! That's not fair! You're fighting dirty!" He accused her, holding his nose until the throbbing stopped.

"Oh, poor little dragon doesn't like it when he gets beaten… Looks like I might win after all." Her voice was sickeningly sweet and filled with tease. She laughed mockingly, anticipating his next move while she taunted him.

Back on his feet in an instant, he readied himself for another attack. It was apparent that head on blows weren't going to work against Lucy. Although physically weaker than him, she was too smart and cunning for him to get to her like that. Natsu needed to figure out a way to subdue the girl, the quicker he did that, the sooner this, whatever this was, would be over.

He eyed her dangerously, she was obviously trying to provoke him and he hated to admit, it was working. Lucy's fighting prowess had really come a long way since they'd first met. Natsu felt pride swell in his chest at how well she held her own, even against a force like him. Many powerful mages in the past had struggled to lay even a single finger on him, yet here she was playing with fire and then goading him like it was nothing.

Even though he'd never gone up against her before, the fire mage had learnt through the years that she wasn't one to take lightly. That was becoming apparently obvious, having landed three separate strikes to him already.

"Don't get too cocky, ya just got lucky! It won't happen again!" He warned.

If Lucy wanted to fight dirty, then he would too. Having already made the detrimental mistake of challenging the fire dragon slayer, she naively followed by not setting any ground rules, which he was going to exploit to his full advantage.

He stood by for a moment, gauging her every move until he'd figured out a way to bring her down without going overboard, because this was Natsu after all and he had a slumbering baby to think about.

Taking him by surprise once again, there was no time to react before she rushed at him, dodging the fist he'd aimed right at her in a vain attempt to knock her down. Bringing out her whip, she slid along the floor, catching it around his ankles and yanking hard, toppling him over and watched him face plant the dirt.

"So much for it won't happen again! I was being serious about sparring and you're just making a mockery of me. It'd be different if I was Erza or Gray right now." Surely that would get him into gear? Lucy knew he was probably still unsure of her true intentions and that was the reason for him not going all out, but she wanted him to let loose and be the Natsu she'd always known. "I know I'm not as strong as they are, but now you're just rubbing it in!"

"You really think I'd do that?" His voice stern and his gaze held a seriousness that wasn't there before. Keeping true to her intentions, she did nothing but stare at him accusingly, waiting for him to react in the only way Natsu would.

Taken aback, he bore deep into her eyes, hoping to find a slither of falsity, anything that would tell him she was lying, but he found nothing. A sudden rush of adrenaline pumped through his body, a fire ignited within his belly, determined to prove her wrong.

Grabbing hold of the whip that was still wrapped around his ankle, he yanked it hard towards him. Lucy, of course, tried to pull back, not willing to let go of her precious celestial whip. But Natsu was simply too strong, bringing her closer until she fell straight into his arms. Quickly flipping them over, he pinned her to the floor and straddled her hips.

However, the blonde wasn't about to give up that easily, not until she got what she wanted. Grimacing up at him, Lucy thrust her hips right into his groin, yet another low blow, but necessary. With his eyes leaping out of his skull and a yelp of discomfort, she speedily switched their positions, with her now on top and him being pinned to the floor.

"Nice try, dragon boy, but you're still not trying hard enough!"

Her grip tightened on his wrists, knowing that if he truly wanted to, he could get out of her grasp, no problem. So she promptly used her magic to dawn Taurus' star dress, using the pervy cows strength to hold the slayer down.

"Jeez, Luce, when did you get this strong?!" Natsu asked surprised, pushing against his restraints and being met with equal amounts of force. He was testing Lucy for sure, finding it rather enjoyable. "Have you been training with that goat man again?"

"I wouldn't have to if you ever bothered to show an interest! You never even ask!" She was trying to push the boy further, he was still holding back and it was starting to frustrate her. "Go on then, Natsu! I know you're not really struggling! Stop treating me like some delicate flower and-"

Before she even knew what'd happened, Natsu had pushed against her and flipped them once again with her arms held down above her head. He was staring right at her, almost intimidatingly so as her Taurus form faded back to her own clothes. She glanced up into his piercing glare, curious to know what he was thinking after having obviously triggered him.

"Lucy… You're no delicate flower… trust me on that." His expression remained stern, like he was working through something in his mind. "You're right, I don't ask but only because I don't need to, you're the strongest person I know. But if that's still not enough for you to believe me then train with me? Show me what you're made of!"

Although not the purpose of this little exercise, she was pleased to hear him say that. It made her feel good that someone as powerful as Natsu recognised her capabilities as well. "I'd love to, Natsu." She smiled.

"Good." He smiled back at her. "And I gotta admit, you've surprised me, Luce. I don't let just anyone knock me down that many times and get away with it, so a word of advice for ya."

Leaning down to her face, his green eyes locked on to her pink lips and smirked as he claimed them eagerly with his own, rough and heavy just like their earlier kiss, proving he could be just as torrid. Detaching from her needy mouth, he studded small kisses across her jaw and up to her ear, where he whispered to her, sending a shiver down her spine.

"You should never let your guard down, Lucy." Hearing him chuckle made her realise her fatal mistake.

"Oh no…" She uttered, gazing upon the piercing glare of a very smug dragon slayer. She gulped thickly, knowing what was about to come. If she didn't get out of his hold soon, he would use her ultimate weakness against her.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" He murmured sarcastically, enjoying the look of horror on her face. "Did you forget who you were up against?"

Her eyes were wide as he switched to hold both of her arms with one hand and without a moments hesitation, dug his fingers into all the places he knew would make her squirm with the other. He tickled her mercilessly, tears welling in her eyes from giggling so much and Natsu couldn't help but grin along with her, finding pure joy in making her laugh so hard that it made her cry.

"N-Natsu! St-Stop! Please!" Lucy begged, barely able to breathe from his hand ravaging her entire body. She couldn't control her movements, jerking and writhing beneath him as he continued his onslaught, only stopping to let her inhale some much needed oxygen.

"Do you give up?" Technically if she conceded now, he'd win, regardless of what underhanded tactics he'd used. Chest heaving, she stayed quiet, contemplating whether she should give up now or not. He grinned wickedly, preparing himself for his next attack, giving her exactly what she'd been after this whole time. "Surrender or I'll use both hands this time. It's up to you, Luce!"

The girl smiled up at him, happy to see his contagious grin back on that handsome face once again. She pulled her hands free from his loosened grip and sat herself up a little, so that she could reach his face. Placing her hand on his cheek and caressing it softly.

"That's all I wanted, was to see that sexy smile of yours. I give up, Natsu, you win." She said, kissing his lips tenderly then placing her head back on the ground.

"That's all you wanted? Pretty weird way of getting what you want, Luce. But I gotta say, it was fun!" This girl was such a weirdo sometimes, but then again, it had worked, she had cheered him up and had definitely got his blood pumping. Now he had the problem of wanting to let off steam in a different way, a more… intimate way. "You know, watching you fight has always been a huge turn on. Now I know fighting against you just makes that worse."

"So, you like being beat, do you? I didn't know you were a masochist! I'm sure Virgo has plenty of things I can punish you with." She sniggered, as his eyes widened in fear, not entirely sure how serious she was being. "Or would you prefer it if I was the one tied down, to do with as you pleased?" She smirked, feeling his member twitch in excitement, she rubbed it ever so gently with her thigh, turning him on even further.

"Hmm… I think I'd prefer that. I never knew you were into such kinky shit, Lucy." He growled, latching on to her neck and nipping at her sensitive skin. The mere thought of Lucy being tied up, begging him to please her, almost made him want to try it right where they lay, but a singular thought was enough to rip that away. "Wait, I'm not sure how I feel about Virgo knowing, she's creepy enough as it is…"

Lucy giggled, her own arousal faltering as images of them getting freaky were ruined by Virgo popping up in the middle of it, asking for punishment—well, if anything was a mood killer… "Shh! I don't wanna hear about Virgo when I'm trying to have my way with you."

"I like the sound of that even more!" He murmured, closing in on her, and kissing her passionately, the scent of her arousal taking over his senses, making him forget about everything but the beauty under him.

Lucy freed her legs from underneath him and wrapped them around his waist, using him as leverage to pull her hips up and rub her core against his erection. He growled against her mouth, approving of her ministrations. Not wanting to wait any longer, he reached down and pulled himself free of his pants and moved her underwear to the side, gently pushing himself into her and earning a guttural groan from her plump lips.

Heightened by their sparring, he thrust into her hard, making her eyes roll into the back of her head and cry out into the open air. In that moment, Natsu didn't care that they were outside and Lucy's loud moaning would give away to anyone within earshot what they were up to. He had so much pent up energy and as much as he loved fighting, fucking Lucy senseless was the best way to get rid of it. This didn't require any underhanded tactics, he simply allowed Lucy's reactions to guide him and the best part was, everyone was a winner.

"Yes, Natsu… Harder!" She gasped as he doubled in speed. In her haze, she felt the slight ache of her back being ground into the floor, but it was over taken by the intenseness of his relentless pounding. The roughness of it all was going to make her cum, that sweet knot inside her was just about ready to snap.

"Cum, Lucy!" He growled through gritted teeth, feeling her tightening around him.

She was so close, her eyes were shut tight, her breathing had become heavy and laboured and she was gripping onto Natsu's head like it was her lifeline. With one more forceful snap of his hips he came, unloading himself deep within her, a strangled moan escaping his lips.

Feeling him tense between her legs made Lucy shudder, gripping tightly around his shaft and greedily milking him for every last drop. Digging her fingers into his scalp, she pulled hard on his pink locks, her cries of ecstasy flying out with the wind.

Natsu took great enjoyment in watching her unravel and waited patiently for her to come down from her high, soaking in every last harsh breath and weary whimper. It was a new type of accomplishment, knowing that he and only he, could make Lucy feel like that.

Leaning down and grinning like a mad man, he kissed her with every last ounce of lust he had in him, thoroughly spent after their afternoon of wild activities. She kissed him back with just as much fire, burning deeply into their bellies.

"AAHHHH! NOT AGAIN!" They heard a small voice shriek from the distance.

Breaking apart, both mages heads twisted to where the noise had come from, their hearts beating rapidly and faces turning beet red, to see who had caught them in such a compromising position.

"Happy?" Natsu said, all arousal leaving his body as he gazed upon the little Exceed, shocked to see him floating there. "You're back?"

The blue cat was hovering there a few metres away, masking the embarrassment in his cheeks by averting his gaze away from the mages who'd obviously been up to naughty things, wanting no part in it. "Um… C-Carla told me I had to come and speak to you, but I can see that you're, uh, busy…" He went to turn around and leave, when Natsu shouted out to him, catching his attention again.

"No! Happy, wait! Uh—just give me a second…" The slayer yelled awkwardly, grateful the Exceed hadn't flown off yet.

He looked down to Lucy for approval, not wanting to just ditch her like this, but she simply smiled at him and kissed his cheek. This was what she'd been waiting for, knowing that once the pair made amends, everything would return to normal, she would have her family back together again.

"Go on, Natsu, don't worry about me. I'll make sure dinners ready for when you both come home, okay?"

Pulling her up into a sitting position, he slipped out of her and quickly adjusted himself before the Exceed looked over. Natsu jumped up onto his feet and drew Lucy up with him, feeling the strain of their actions on her back as she straightened herself up. Her underwear and skirt were now back to normal and all evidence of their intimacy now gone, both looking as innocent as ever.

"Thanks, Lucy! You're the best!" He grinned, kissing her mouth one last time before letting go of her hand and turning to run towards Happy, who'd been waiting patiently.

The young girl sighed and smiled as she watched them walk off towards the river. Once out of sight, she turned to make her way back inside the house, the sound of the baby stirring, catching her attention.

At first they remained quiet, sitting by the river with nothing but the sound of water rushing passed made it feel awkward between them. Natsu really didn't know what to say, he'd been running it through his head all day how he was going to apologise to his little friend, but now all words seemed to have vanished from his vocabulary.

"So…" Happy started, looking out onto the river. "I didn't know you guys were exhibitionists now."

"Happy!" Natsu exclaimed. Using his scarf to cover his cheeks as they flushed with embarrassment.

"What? I'm just saying! Being caught in the house wasn't enough for ya, so you ventured outside this time?" Happy said, a devilish smirk appearing on his face.

"Shh! Lucy will gut you if she hears you say that!" Natsu darted his head around quickly to make sure the blonde hadn't followed.

This hadn't been the first time the cat had caught them in the act, or the second… or third for that matter. He had a habit of popping up at the most inconvenient of times, although Happy would argue that they were always at it, so it was never truly safe. It was a wonder it hadn't traumatised the poor cat for life. But Happy simply giggled cheekily, shocking Natsu for a moment until he too found the humour in it all.

"It's nice to smile again. I haven't since-" All mirth had gone from the cats face as he looked down to the grass in front of him, feeling saddened as he remembered the incident. "I really didn't mean to cause any trouble, I was just trying to entertain him. I didn't think he'd fall off of the bar that suddenly, I only let go for two seconds."

Happy felt tears well in his eyes as he turned to his best friend. He'd had a lot of time over the past week to think about what'd happened and what could've happened if Natsu hadn't been there to save little Haru.

"Happy, it's o-"

"No, Natsu, it's not okay!" He interrupted the dragon slayer, who instantly shut his mouth, allowing Happy to continue. "You were right, I was careless and irresponsible. I could've seriously hurt him and then what would you have done? You don't want someone like me around, I don't deserve your friendship!"

Feeling like utter shit, Natsu couldn't believe Happy had come to that conclusion. The fact of the matter was, nothing bad had actually happened and speaking in hypotheticals was a waste of energy. All the slayer wanted was his friend back, by hook or by crook, Happy was going to come home with him, because that's where he belonged.

He was going to make this right, Lucy was counting on him to make it right and he'd be damned if Happy thought he was going to be walking away from here without him as his friend. That would never happen! Natsu leaned over and pulled the now crying Exceed into his lap, holding him close until his bawling calmed into whimpers.

"Happy, I will always be your friend, that I know for sure." The slayer sighed, he wasn't good with emotion or talking about said emotions but he was trying, for Happy's sake. "Look at everything we've been through together, you think I'd let you leave alone? I never meant any of what I said to you, Happy, but I couldn't stop it from coming out. Looks like we've both got a lot to learn, huh?"

Happy, having stopped crying, looked up to Natsu's solemn face and watched as he went through the motions. This argument had been their biggest to date and it'd affected them both greatly. It seems even the care-free, rambunctious hot head, wasn't immune to the stresses of life, especially those that came with being a father.

Natsu never saw caring for Haru as stressful, he enjoyed everything there was about being his dad, but having a child was still an extra responsibility and that came with added worry, something the slayer was very unfamiliar with. It was the only reason why he'd reacted like that towards Happy, why he'd been unable to control himself when Haru took that fall.

"I know I don't spend as much time with you now, but that doesn't mean I don't want you around. In fact, having you there makes everything feel normal. You're the one thing that's always remained the same through all of our adventures and I never want that to change. You'll always be my best friend, Happy." Natsu finished, hoping he'd managed to convey just how important the flying cat was to their little family dynamic.

"You're my best friend too, Natsu." The little Exceed felt hope build within his small frame. "Does that mean you're not angry with me any more?"

"Of course not, Happy. I never really was. I just want you to come home."

"Fine… I'll come home then on one condition…" Happy smirked, his stomach rumbling. Natsu tilted his head in curiosity, what did the blue cat want? "I can have fish for dinner, I'm starving!" The cat began to drool, thinking of all the little fishes.

Natsu began to snigger which quickly turned into a full blown laugh, all these emotions were sending him doolally apparently. He'd had a feeling the request would be fish related and he was right. Patting the little guy on the head who also started to snicker. The fire mage nodded, relieved that everything had fallen back into place.

"Kissed and made up yet?" A female voice broke through Natsu and Happy's laughter, snapping their heads to the beautiful blonde standing there. Clad in appropriate clothing this time with a basket in one hand and a baby in the other, smiling happily at the two on the ground.

"Lucy? I didn't hear you coming, I thought you were gonna stay home?" Natsu asked, surprised but happy to see her.

"I didn't know how long you'd be, so I thought I'd bring dinner to you guys instead." She said, placing the basket down on the floor and plopping the little one into Natsu's lap. But before she had chance to sit down herself, Happy flew at her, barrelling into her chest and wailed like a child.

"Lucy! I missed you!" He yelled excitedly, snuggling into her chest. "Did you bring me fish?!"

"Of course! Raw and smelly, just how you like it." She chuckled at the grin on the Exceed's face, plonking herself down by the basket.

They sat along the river bank until the early evening, enjoying their dinner and telling Happy all about the mission they'd been on. Everything seemed normal again, like the fall out had never happened. Everyone was smiling and talking, even Haru was trying to join in on the conversation with his babbling.

"Let's get a look at ya then." Happy said, walking over to the little one. Haru, who was still sat in Natsu's lap, grinned widely as he laid eyes on the cat. Haru tried to lean forward to grab hold of the cats whiskers, but missed and fell forwards again, but this time Happy was right there to catch him, lifting him up into the air. "Wow! You're getting heavy! Just like your Mommy…"

He smirked evilly and looked over to Lucy, who's expression turned sinister. With a sense of foreboding hanging in the air, Natsu took the baby back from the cat and slowly moved away from the now steaming blonde, mouthing to Happy to run for it before she skinned him alive.

"That's it!" She yelled, like a battle cry. Storming over to the Exceed, her Cancer form appearing with two large blades pointing directly at the felines throat, scarily resembling a certain red head. "Say that again, I dare you!"

"WAH! Natsu, help! She's gonna kill me!" Happy screamed, flying into the air rapidly and shooting off into the distance, with the stellar mage hot on his tail.

Natsu watched them both run off into the trees, furrowing his brows he looked to the baby in his arms, who was busy playing with the white scarf. "And they say I'm the impulsive one?" Shaking his head, he casually made his way into the woods, hoping Lucy hadn't killed Happy before he got there to rescue him.


	13. Ignite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains mature content (at the beginning)  
> Let the angst commence!

Along the murky path, a dragon slayer and his flying cat made their way back to the city they called home. It'd been a long trip, the boy, tired and achy, couldn't wait to finally get back to what was familiar to him.

It'd been a mission like any that requested him specifically, explosive with lots of fire and usually it would have been right up his alley. This time, however, the sense of longing had deterred his mind and in the end it'd just been one incredibly long and tedious job, he couldn't wait to finish.

His thoughts on this dark night always lead back to the one person that mattered most to him, his best friend and partner, Lucy Heartfilia, who he missed dearly. Going on missions just wasn't the same without her. Through the dark nights he often found himself awake, wondering how she was doing? How she was coping with the baby? What they'd both been up to in his absence?

A whole three weeks it had been since he'd seen her, smelt her fresh scent, or touched her soft skin and the yearning in his heart had grown stronger with each passing day.

Being away from them for this long had really brought home to Natsu just how much everything had changed. It was hard to remember a time before Lucy, a time where it had been just him and Happy going on adventures, scouring Fiore for Igneel. But it was in doing just that, that lead him straight to Lucy.

Years had passed since then and lots had happened in that time, some good, some bad and some horrifically ugly… But they were still going strong, stronger than ever and Natsu often wondered what else the future would bring their way? What would be next in store for them?

Disrupting his thoughts, a sense of relief flowed through him and Happy at the sight of their home in the distance and picked up the pace until they were outside the wooden front door. Quietly creeping in, Happy's first port of call was the kitchen to look for some fish, which he gratefully found and started munching on. Natsu, ignoring his growling stomach, laid his bag down on the chair in the living area and bid Happy goodnight before making his way up the stairs.

Once he got to the top, he saw that Haru's bedroom door had been left ajar and ever so quietly peeked in, smiling at the little one who was tucked into his comforter and sleeping soundly. Natsu had missed his little boy whilst he was away and couldn't wait for morning to come so that he could greet him properly and see his sweet face.

Reaching his own bedroom, Natsu's nose was flooded with that intoxicating scent he'd missed so much and the sight that graced his eyes took his breath away. There she was, the beautiful blonde was fast asleep, covered by one of the many blankets she'd insisted upon having, cuddled up to the pillow that he usually slept on.

After undressing, Natsu ever so carefully got into bed next to her, removing the pillow and replacing it with himself. Sighing contently, he cuddled up to her and inhaled her scent, before settling down and falling into a restful sleep.

The wintry sun peered through the bedroom window, blaring it's brilliance over the two young adults who were still cuddled up to one another, revelling in each others warmth.

Blurry and unfocused eyes opened to glance at the not so squishy pillow she thought she'd been cuddling, only to be met with chaotic pink hair, hard, ripped muscles and beautifully tanned skin that she envied so much. A rush of excitement ran through her, Natsu was home! She'd missed him so much and she was having a hard time containing herself. Taking in his impressive body, she lightly traced her fingers over a few new scuffs and bruises along his chest and abdomen, concluding he'd probably gone overboard again.

Her eyes drifted further until it reached that tantalising 'V' in between his hips leading down underneath the blankets where she could no longer see. A little idea popped into her mind and she smirked wickedly as she made her way under the blankets, coming to rest between Natsu's legs. He was still fast asleep, exhausted no doubt from his trip, but she knew of a way to help him relax.

Wetting her hands, she grasped his morning wood and ever so slowly moved her hand up and down, anticipating his reaction when he woke up. After a few movements of her hand, Natsu's eyes shot open and immediately looked down to the area he felt something touching him.

"Lucy?! What're you-?"

Stopping mid sentence as she tensed her hand at the base, trapping the blood pulsing through his cock, creating such delicious pressure. What a sight that was to wake up to, his beautiful and sexy girlfriend jerking him off with her hand, making him feel amazing first thing in the morning.

"Shh… Just lay back and enjoy it. I'm sure after such a long mission, you've been desperate for this…" She crawled up to his face, and kissed him fervently, foot manoeuvred over his leg to keep rubbing his shaft as she used both hands to hold her weight above him. "…I know I have."

"Is that so?" A lazy smirk played on his still drowsy but handsome face, eyes concentrated on hers while her foot continued to do wondrous things to his nether region. "By all means, continue… I'm not gonna stop ya!"

"Good." She said, returning to her original spot between his legs, replacing her foot with her hand once again and slowly began to tease him with long, soft strokes, never taking her eyes off his. "Hmm… I think I'd like to taste you now."

Without any hesitation, she encased her juicy lips around him, pushing forward as deeply as she could without gagging and pulling back up again. Satisfied to hear a quiet moan escape his lips, Lucy increased her speed, watching his face contort into one of pure pleasure, gritting his teeth and grunting every time she used her tongue to swirl around the tip before delving back down.

Natsu certainly hadn't expected any of this. Seeing Lucy's mouth wrapped firmly around his cock after three weeks of no contact with her whatsoever, made his hair stand on edge. She was so good at pleasuring him, she knew exactly what he liked and what he didn't and took great care in making him feel good.

"Lucy… You're amazing…" He trailed off, the tension increasing and fastening that coil that was raring to force itself out.

Lucy could see he was getting closer and wanted to take him over the edge, to release all that tension from weeks of build up. Turning herself on just thinking about it, she reached down to her own core and began to touch herself, moaning onto his cock, giving Natsu a full show.

"Fuck me, you're so hot!" He growled, wanting to touch her and share the amazing feeling she was giving him.

"Fuck you? Is that what you want, Natsu?" She smirked, not waiting for an answer as she came to straddle his hips, grinding her soaked core against his hardened member. His only answer a groan, his hands going straight to her thighs and hips, wanting to touch every inch of her sexy body. "Where should I put this?" She teased him, wiggling her hips on his erection.

"Inside you, Lucy…" His voice rasped, straining to get the words out. Natsu's dark eyes were hooded but they never left hers as she carefully positioned him with her hand and pushed down all the way to the hilt.

Groaning in unison, Lucy's head fell back, relishing in the intense feeling of his penis pulsing against her velvety walls, stretching her to the point where it stung slightly. It wasn't unpleasant though, if anything it added to her pleasure, making her mouth fall open and letting out a guttural moan. She enjoyed this position, it allowed her to take control and please herself at her own speed.

"So good…" She mewled, raising up before coming back down again, then repeating it until she found a rhythm that worked for her. "Oh, I've missed you, Natsu!"

Lucy was other-wordly, Natsu thought as he watched her ride him. Her voluptuous chest had begun to spill free of the confines of her slinky night dress, and her hardened nipples were peaking through the thin fabric.

Not being able to stop himself, he reached up to tweak them, knowing it was one of Lucy's sweet spots. She grunted and gasped, placing her hands on his chest and began to grind down on him, the friction building up a storm inside them both.

Wanting to feel more of her sultry body on him, Natsu pulled Lucy forwards and attacked her mouth, making her groan loudly from the harshness of his teeth biting her bottom lip.

It was easy in times like this to forget that they weren't alone in the house and with his sensitive ears picking up on one tiny whimper from the bedroom down the hall, signalling a certain little someone was about to wake up.

Taking matters into his own hands, they would need to finish this quickly and the speed Lucy was going, as incredible as it was to just lay there and watch, wasn't going to be quick enough. Smirking up at her, he grabbed both of her ass cheeks and stilled her movements, finding her unimpressed pout just too cute.

"My turn now." He growled into her ear and bent his legs behind her to give himself better leverage.

He held Lucy down to his chest and ever so slowly raised his hips to make sure it was comfortable before pulling back out. Welding their lips together he thrust into her, hard and fast, causing her to cry out into his mouth. Luckily, it muffled the loud yell of ecstasy that was enough to wake the whole of Fiore, let alone anyone within the perimeters of the house. Tangling his hands into her hair, he held her head against his, taking in the euphoria that filled her eyes with each thrust of his hips.

"You feel so good, Natsu!" She was breathless, and could feel her own end approaching, tensing tightly around him to create even more friction. He reached his hand down to her small clit and began to stimulate it whilst fucking her rampantly from underneath. Her eyes began to water, rolling into the back of her head as the pressure became almost too much.

"Finish with me, Lucy…" He groaned, on his last legs he couldn't hold back much longer, and within seconds was cumming deep within her, gripping her hips as the ecstasy took over his form, emptying himself with slow, small jerks.

"Yes, fill me up…" The wind being knocked out of her lungs as he suddenly thrust hard one last time, snapping the cord that had wrapped it's way around her sanity.

Arching her back and gripping the sheets beside Natsu's head, Lucy pushed her ass down onto him and rode out her high, clamping around his sensitive tip until she flopped onto his front. Breaths were heavy, but that didn't stop her from reaching his lips once more, melting against him in a softer, sweeter kiss than before, filling her heart with such warmth and comfort to have him home at last.

"Welcome home, Natsu!" She said between kisses, making him chuckle.

"By the way, I missed you too, Lucy." He said, grinning like an idiot, remembering what she'd said amidst the passion, making her blush slightly. Sighing, he felt all the tension in his body melt away with her back in his arms.

An incoherent babble reached Natsu's ears from down the hall, making him smile. "I think Haru's awake?"

"He is? Good, we've gotta surprise for you! You're gonna love it! Wait here!" She said excitedly, hopping off of him and running out of the room. Natsu looked to the door she'd just gone out of quizzically. 'A surprise? Hadn't the way she'd woken him up been surprise enough?' He wondered, sitting himself up and waited patiently for her to return.

A few moments later, Lucy re-entered the room with Haru in her arms with wild hair and a toothy smile, he grinned in a way that strangely resembled Natsu and reached out for him. Natsu's matching fanged grin spread wide across his cheeks as he took Haru from Lucy and gave him the biggest cuddle.

"Hey, buddy! Did ya miss me?" Natsu held him up so he was eye level with Haru and continued to ask random silly questions to the little one, receiving little babbles as answers.

"Haru, tell daddy what you've learnt while he was gone?" Lucy said, trying to encourage the baby. Haru giggled then looked to his curious father who was waiting for him to do something. "Go on, tell daddy!"

"Da… Da…"

Two little words came out of the baby's mouth and Natsu's own mouth fell open in shock. Did he hear that right? Had Haru just said his first word? His sensitive hearing had never failed him before, so why would it now?

"Did you just say Dada? Your first word is Dada?!" Natsu went silent for a moment, conjuring his thoughts.

"Da Da!" The baby said excitedly, clapping his hands together.

Natsu's face lit up when he heard it again, he definitely heard that right! "Ha! I win, Luce! He said my name first!" He jeered, turning to Lucy and sticking his tongue out at her, sniggering at his triumph over his partner.

Lucy deadpanned initially she hadn't realised it was a competition, but quickly began to chuckle, it was a typical Natsu reaction, she should have known better. "He started saying it not too long after you left actually, maybe it was because he missed you." She stated, smiling at the beaming grin on Natsu's face, clearly delighted Haru had said his first word, regardless of what it was.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to hear it, little guy. But I promise I'll be here for the next one! Maybe your next word could be Happy?" He said, laughing at Lucy's unimpressed face.

"Happy?! What about Mama?! Mama's much easier to say than Happy!" Natsu was sure he saw a vein pop in her head, she was so easy to wind up, he didn't really need to try sometimes.

"Aw, come on, Lucy, you'd be pleased all the same if it was!" Natsu did have a point, but she was about to put that to the test.

"Well, then you'd be fine if it was, say… Gray or ice then?" She teased, raising her eyebrows at him as he went silent, not liking the sound of that.

"No son of mine would ever speak such filthy words!" Natsu held the baby close to his chest as if to hide him and covered his ears, offended she could ever suggest such a thing.

Lucy shook her head and chuckled, standing up to go downstairs. "You're such an idiot sometimes!" She said turning to walk out of the door, "You hungry?" She asked, not needing the boy to answer, knowing he'd follow her if food was involved.

Happy, who was already awake, was sitting on the table with his freshly caught fish laid out in front of him, his mouth watering and about to chow down when his seemingly sex-crazed companions and sprog emerged from the stairwell. "So you finally decided to stop touching each other and get up?" Happy said, clamping his jaw down on a slimy fish.

"It was Lucy's fault, she made me do it!" Pointing directly at the poor girl who was glowing a bright red.

"Natsu! Don't say it like that, not in front of Happy! You don't know who he might tell!" She couldn't help but hide her face in her hands as she made her way into the kitchen, distracting herself from the embarrassment obvious in her cheeks.

"Anyone who bribes me with fish, usually…" Happy shrugged nonchalantly as Lucy's mouth dropped open. If that was the case, then the whole guild probably knew the details of her and Natsu's sex life. "Speaking of which, I'm outta here!" He chirped, flying out of the window, giggling at Lucy's even redder, flushed face. She was going to kill that cat, that she knew for certain!

Natsu had lost interest in that conversation ages ago, more engrossed in catching up with Haru instead. However, the longer he tried to interact with him, the more he realised something seemed a little off.

"Hey, Luce?" Gaining the blonde's attention from the kitchen, "Something's wrong with Haru, his face just went all red and I think he's gonna-" And then it happened, vomit everywhere… "…Puke…"

The horrific stench of baby vomit invaded Natsu's nose, almost making him gag. The substance splattered all over the floor and table looked and smelt like congealed, off milk mixed with whatever else was sitting in the little one's stomach.

Not understanding why he suddenly felt so terrible, the baby began to cry. Tears flooded down his puffy cheeks and his high pitched wailing rung through Natsu's ears, getting louder and more shrill every time he retched and brought up more vomit.

"Whoa! Where did all that come from, little guy?" Stunned by how much had just been ejected from the little one's mouth, the dragon slayer turned him around and aimed his head towards the bowl that Lucy had placed in front of them to catch the vomit that seemed to keep flying out, upsetting Haru even further. "I know it's not nice, but there's no need to cry. It'll pass soon." Natsu spoke soothingly next to the baby's ear, stroking his back tenderly to try and comfort him.

"I don't understand, he was supposed to be getting better, not worse! Wendy even used her healing spell on him, so why hasn't it worked?" Lucy had walked over to where Natsu was sitting and placed her hand on the baby's forehead, feeling his temperature rising again. "Maybe I'll take him to Porlyusica this time?"

"Hold on… What do you mean Wendy's healing spell hasn't work? Was Haru sick while I was gone?" Natsu asked, trying to work out what had gone down in his absence, while still occupied with trying to catch the contents of Haru's stomach.

"Yes, Haru has been sick for nearly a week now. I tried at first to help him on my own but because his symptoms were getting worse, I asked Wendy to come and heal him yesterday. His symptoms improved instantly and I thought whatever sickness it was had gone." She said, pointing to the little one who was still retching, however, only bile was coming up now that he'd emptied his stomach completely. "But obviously not…"

"Oh… I still don't understand why you kept that to yourself, I could've helped." Natsu looked at Lucy in shock, confused about why she wouldn't tell him something like that.

"You were on a job, remember? And I didn't know when you'd return so I just got on with it." She stated, tilting her own head in confusion while attempting to clean up the mess on the floor. It's not like she had any way of contacting him so she'd dealt with it on her own. "As I said, he's been completely fine since yesterday, so I didn't think there was any need to worry you."

"That's not the point, Lucy! If he's been this sick for that long, then you could've sent someone to come and get me, I would've returned home in a heartbeat." He expressed, feeling saddened that his son had been unwell and he'd not known about it or been there for him.

"I wasn't going to do that over a little sickness bug. You can't just abandon a job because of something like this, it would ruin Fairy Tail's reputation, you know that!" Lucy could feel herself getting a little bothered by the situation. She'd tried her hardest to look after Haru on her own and now it felt like Natsu was disregarding her efforts. "And for your information, I was perfectly capable of looking after him on my own!"

The tone of her voice was sharp and defensive, enough to make Natsu stop in his tracks and think carefully about what he would say next. His intention was not to upset Lucy, that's for sure. He simply wanted to understand why she'd decided to do this on her own, why she hadn't asked for help and kept him in the dark.

"Lucy, I never said you weren't, that's not what I'm getting at here…" Natsu's voice turned low and soft, barely a croak. He reached out his hand to grasp hers and squeezed firmly, caressing the soft skin of her palm. "Haru is my son too and I should have been there to help. I would go to the ends of Earthland for him, so one measly job can stuff it for all I care. As for Fairy Tail, Gramps would understand. Family always comes first, Luce… Always."

Lucy stared at him, trying to find a way to justify her actions but she couldn't argue with that. He was right, family did come first, but she simply hadn't wanted to bother him. She felt the responsibility had landed on her shoulders and she needed to deal with it. Now, looking back, maybe she had needed help. Having not fully recovered from all those sleepless nights spent trying to comfort the unwell infant, it'd been a difficult week for the both of them.

It'd definitely taken its toll, her mind had a hazy feel to it, like a dense fog was clouding her better judgement and the exhaustion making her irritable and grouchy. The initial excitement and adrenaline rush of Natsu being home had settled now and after their little morning fun, she felt more tired than ever.

"Forgive me, Natsu, I didn't mean that. I'm just a little tired, this past week has been difficult to say the least. Last night was the first time I'd gotten any real sleep since Haru became sick." She said, leaning down to kiss him, showing her sincerity.

Natsu accepted her greedily, placing one hand to rest on the base of her hairline, he put his forehead to hers and smiled. "No need to apologise, I'm home now so we can work this out together." He looked down to Haru, who had stopped crying but was now just letting out small whimpers, obviously still in a lot of distress. "Let's go see Porlyusica, she'll know what to do!"

"You're having a shower first! You have puke all over your legs and it stinks!" She chuckled half heartedly at his predicament. He looked down and realised the smell that was making him feel queasy was coming from him and gagged. He jumped up and ran to the shower while Lucy got herself and the baby ready to visit Fairy Tail's medical advisor.

Practically sprinting all the way to the guild hall, hoping Porlyusica would be there, they crashed through the door, out of breath and panting, gaining the attention of everyone present. The baby's wails thundered through the hall and Lucy just couldn't get him to settle, no matter what she tried.

"Is everything okay, guys? What's wrong with Haru?" Mira asked, walking over to them.

"He's sick Mira, really sick. Is Porlyusica here?" She breathed, struggling to catch her breath still.

"Yes, I'll go and get her, wait here." The take over mage was quick to fetch the old woman, before returning to the bar with Porlyusica following behind.

"What do you both want? I was in the middle of something." She scorned, a scowl ever present on her wrinkled face.

"Sorry to bother you, but Haru is sick and we didn't know who else to go to." Lucy pleaded, hoping the healer wouldn't turn them away as she'd been known to do. The blonde was prepared to get on her hands and knees and beg in front of everybody if she had to.

"Bring him to the infirmary and I'll take a look at him." The older woman sighed, immediately taking Haru out of Lucy's arms once they entered the room and laid him on the bed.

At first glance she could see just how sickly the child was with pale, mottled skin and flushed cheeks that were hot to the touch. His breathing was heavy like he'd just been for a run and he had little beads of sweat trickling down from his hair line. There was no doubt that he was in some sort of pain too if his cries were anything to go by.

"When did this start?" She asked, getting to work with her different instruments set out beside her.

"A fever came on about a week ago, then gradually more and more symptoms showed up. When Wendy came to heal him, it seemed to disappear for a day or so, then about an hour ago he vomited and now he's like this." Lucy said in a bit of a panic as she took a seat next to the bed with Natsu, grabbing hold and squeezing his wrist until it turned red, causing him to wince.

"If Wendy wasn't able to heal him, then this is no ordinary ailment. I imagine her spell simply treated some of his symptoms for a little while, but didn't actually cure him." Porlyusica said, as she finished checking the little one over. She had an array of potions and medicines in the cabinets behind her, it was what she specialised in after all, and retrieved a few to show to the anxious parents. "These potions will help relieve some of his symptoms much like what Wendy's healing spell did, but they are not a cure, just a temporary measure until I can figure out what's wrong with him."

"But what is wrong with him? If it's not a normal illness, then what the heck is it?" Natsu asked, completely baffled by what could be causing Haru so much discomfort.

The healer straightened herself up and placed her thumb and forefinger on her chin. "He's showcasing symptoms of an infection or virus, but without actually having either. Then I can only conclude that there is something else that has invaded his body, causing his immune system to fight back like this." She picked the baby back up and handed him over to Lucy. "From what I can tell, it's most likely to be too much magical energy overwhelming his system."

"Wait, what? Excess magic? But he can't use magic yet!" Natsu's face grew more and more confused the longer he thought about it. Her diagnosis really hadn't explained anything. "How did you come to that?!"

Perplexed as well, Lucy's usual sharp mind had been fogged by weariness, a better explanation than that was needed if there was going to be any hope of her or Natsu understanding. "Um, I don't get what you're trying to say either, do you mind elaborating, please?" She asked, rubbing the babies back as he started to grumble whilst trying to get comfortable.

"It's simple really." The healer walked back over to the table to start clearing away what she'd used. "We live in a time where there is an abundance of ether-nano all around us, and as part of a very complex system we absorb and expel that ether-nano keeping a steady flow of magical energy within us, your body does this automatically. But, some babies are born without that automatic system, causing them to absorb more ether-nano than they should, which slowly overwhelms their small bodies, making them sick. It isn't all that common and can have serious consequences if not dealt with efficiently, but it is something that the body will learn to do over time. All you have to do is help him expel it."

"Er… I only really understood the last part of that to be honest..." The slayer smiled sheepishly, a hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "Do you mean like train him or make him jump or something? Scaring him works when he has hiccups!"

"No, Natsu that isn't what she meant! And how the hell do you train a baby to use magic? He's not even one yet!" Lucy facepalmed her hand at his comment. Trust Natsu to come up with the 'sensible' idea… "Isn't there some sort of medicine you can give him?"

"No, although Natsu wasn't too far off with his scare tactics suggestion." The healer said with her poker face.

"Seriously?!" Lucy's face scrunched into one of disbelief, while Natsu just grinned at her.

"I'm always serious and you should be too with what I'm about to tell you. This isn't something to take lightly and neither of you are going to like it, but you must remember this is no ordinary sickness that you can treat with some potion…"

Stopping dead in their tracks, both of their faces dropped at her warning, neither liking the sound of that. Returning their attention back to the healer, she continued. "You'll have to force it out of him. In the right circumstances, a child with enough magical energy gathered within them can be forced to expel it as a way of protecting themselves from danger. All you have to do is-"

"Put him in danger…" Natsu finished for her, hearing Lucy gasp in horror. He could feel her eyes burning into the side of his head. "Am I right?"

"Yes, Natsu. It's the only way. The quicker you do it, the sooner Haru will recover."

The slayer had a feeling it was going to be something like that, how else would you force it out? Lucy could barely believe her ears, how on Earthland did that old woman expect them to do that? Did she realise what a tall order that was? With nothing more to say on the matter, they left the infirmary and walked back outside, stopping just a little ways from the guild.

Holding the baby close to her, Lucy remained quiet, she didn't have any words right now that could convey how hopeless she felt. Her mind was all over the shop, they would have to put poor Haru in danger and essentially scare the magic out of him. How were they going to do this? And just how much danger? Lucy didn't really want an answer to that, Porlyusica had said it wouldn't be easy and now she understood why.

"Luce…"

Natsu's voice pierced through her erratic thoughts and she looked over to where he was standing. He looked just as troubled as she was, his own internal battle taking place. They'd gone to Porlyusica for answers and that's exactly what she'd given them, but neither had expected this sort of outcome. What were they going to do?

"I don't know if I can do this, Natsu! How're we supposed to pull this off? Why couldn't he just have a cold or something?" She whimpered, her worry becoming too much too bare.

Poor little Haru was sick enough, he didn't need his own parents to put him through any more. It wasn't fair, he was just a baby! Tears entered Lucy's eyes and began streaming down her pale cheeks, the panic setting in.

"Hey… we'll figure this out, I promise." Natsu cupped her cheek and wiped her flowing tears away, her head nestling into his warm hand. "I know it's hard, Lucy, I'm not going to pretend it isn't, but Haru needs us to be strong for him right now. He's counting on us to make him feel better." He moved his hand down to rest on her collar bone and stroked it reassuringly, an empathetic smile playing on his lips.

She couldn't help the sniffles and whimpers that slipped out as she tried to smile back at him. Lucy was surprised by his maturity, she certainly hadn't expected him to take it so well, considering what they had to do. Natsu's words rung true though, this was for Haru's sake and the sooner they did it, the sooner he would be back to normal and that's what mattered.

"You're right, he's suffered long enough, let's get this over with." She said, tired and strained eyes locking onto Natsu's, the fear still prevalent.

A pang of guilt settled in Natsu's chest as he thought about how tired Lucy looked. She'd dealt with this far longer than he had and she'd done it alone. He admired her courage to pull through such a task with barely any sleep, but then that was Lucy for you.

"I guess, the question now is how are we going to execute this? Obviously we can't put him in any real danger, just enough to get him to react to it." Lucy knitted her brows together as she tried to push passed the worry to think of a plan.

"I have an idea, but you're gonna have to put your faith in me, Lucy. Regardless of how much you want to run to him, you must stay out of the way." Natsu's face turned serious, all light from his eyes had gone and had been replaced with the fire burning within him to get this right. "My magic is more aggressive than yours, so it'll work better for this."

"I-If you're sure, Natsu. Lead the way." She spoke timidly, following behind him.

Deciding it best to do it while they were still outside, Natsu woke Haru gently and placed him on a nearby tree stump. Standing out of sight of the baby with Lucy not far behind, the slayer took a deep breath, then used his dragons roar to blow fire a few metres away from the infant. The idea was if Haru could feel the heat of the flames, it might spur him to protect himself from the oncoming danger.

They waited to see if they could get a reaction from the child, but there was nothing. It seemed after being around his destructive fire dragon slayer father, Haru had become accustomed to seeing flames, and barely took any notice of them.

Clenching his teeth, Natsu could kick himself, he should have known better than to believe it would be that easy. He could feel his body tense and his heart pick up speed as he took it one step further. Using his roar once again, he blew flames around the tree stump, trapping the baby in and reluctantly watched as the little one attempted to escape his blazing prison.

Lucy's eyes widened and instinctively took a step forward, but Natsu held out his arm to stop her from coming any closer. This needed to work, he didn't want to have to keep doing it, upsetting Haru over and over again until the infant was too weak and sick to defend himself.

"Isn't that a little close, Natsu?" Lucy uttered her concern from behind the fire mage, trying to control her own rattling nerves.

Unable to find a way out, Haru finally began to cry, escalating quickly to loud wails of distress, begging for his mommy and daddy to come and save him. But that's all it was, just lots of tears, he made no real attempt to protect himself and now it was starting to really worry Natsu. Would a baby as young as Haru know even how to defend himself? And how much further could he go without actually burning his son? He had impeccable control over his magic but fire was still fire and it was dangerous.

"Dammit! It's not working!" He didn't want to have to do this, but with only one option left, it was their last hope. "They need to be closer!"

"Closer?! But they'll be on top of him, surely you don't mean-?" Her voice quivered with each word spoken, her eyes wide with horror as she realised what Natsu was about to do.

"It's the only way, Lucy." He sighed, turning a little in her direction but not meeting her eyes. He didn't want to see her expression, to see how much this was hurting her because it was hurting him just the same.

With nothing more to say, Natsu looked back to the baby and extinguished the flames around him. Hearing his cries turn back to soft whimpers, Haru darted his little head around in search of his parents, but he couldn't see them anywhere. His bottom lip was quivering, frightened and alone, Haru let fresh tears fall from his eyes, rubbing them with his fists until they were red and sore.

Lucy felt her heart break little by little with every pained tear that slipped down her sons face. This was the most horrific thing she'd ever had to endure. All she wanted was to run over and give him a cuddle, to let him know that they were right there and that he wasn't in any real danger, but for his own sake she couldn't, she had to just stand there and watch.

"Please, let this work!" Natsu whispered to himself as he let flames slowly creep along the ground, making their way towards the scared baby.

As soon as Haru saw them again, his wails returned, even louder and full of anguish this time, making it even harder for Natsu to keep his resolve. It pained him to see what his flames were doing to his son, the terror in his eyes as they got closer, the urgency in his cry when they began to lick at his delicate skin. Hearing his heart pound loudly in his ears, the determined father pressed forward before he changed his mind, encasing the baby in his flames. The cries of the petrified infant began to sound more like an agonising screech, haunting Natsu to his very core.

If this didn't work, the pink haired boy didn't know what he was going to do. How much more danger could he put Haru in before it had any serious lasting affects on him or worse, it caused him actual harm?

Lucy was still trying to fight every fibre of her being not to run over there and rescue the little boy. She felt her legs go weak from hearing his desperate pleas for help and trembled from seeing the fear in his bloodshot eyes.

She'd said she trusted Natsu and she did, with absolute certainty, but being witness to him doing this was painful, it was physically hurting her in a way she'd never been hurt before. How much longer could he keep this up? How much more could little Haru take before he wiped himself out?

"Natsu… Please…" She whispered, his ears had picked up her quiet plea, but chose to ignore it for now. They were so close, he wasn't about to give up! She took a step forward, towards the dragon slayer, not willing to watch any more of this, she spoke a little louder this time. "You can stop now, it's too much…"

"Lucy, we can't give up yet, this needs to work!" He said, determined to see this through, determined to make Haru better.

She let hot tears fall freely down her cheeks, as she turned back to the little one who looked just about ready to give up. Enough was enough, she couldn't watch any more of this. With her heart racing and her body quaking, she put one unsteady foot in front of the other and pushed herself as fast as she could to the tree stump, scooping the baby up into her arms and held him to her chest. The fire still present, began to burn her clothing through to her skin, and as much as it hurt, she didn't care. She would take it for the sake of comforting Haru.

Natsu, so focused on the task at hand, had been too slow to react to the flash of blonde hair that'd shot passed him. Lucy had run straight into the fire, his fire and by the time he'd extinguished them, it was too late.

She was on her knees grimacing, trying to remain strong for the teary baby in her hold. Unable to move, Natsu just stared. Stared at the girl who'd grunted out in pain as his flames charred her skin, stared at the baby who was crying in sheer terror from the flames that had engulfed him. Was he wrong to have done that? He'd been so certain it would work and now it'd gone so horribly wrong.

When he reached them both, the overwhelming guilt punched him straight in the gut at the sight of singed skin across her chest, along both arms and up to her chin. The horrific smell of burnt flesh permeated the air and the burns that decorated her tender skin looked incredibly painful and would begin to blister and scar if not treated soon. Haru, however, didn't have a scratch on him, which Natsu was thankful for.

"N-Natsu… I'm s-sorry, I-I just, I couldn't bare…" Her voice wavered through gritted teeth, wincing from the movement of looking up at him. "...I-It hurts so badly…"

"I know it does, Luce, hold on and I'll take you to Wendy." He bent down and ever so carefully picked her up, carrying her trembling body and the little one back to the guild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I know this chapter seems a bit more angsty than the others I've written and I've got to be honest, the next one is similar, but as we're closing in on the end of this story, it's only natural something a little dramatic would happen at the end, right? I hope you're all still enjoying reading it though! Seeing your reviews always gives me the motivation to carry on, so thank you to everyone that's ever commented or liked this, it really helps! There will still be a few more chapters yet to go, so stay tuned! :)


	14. Yours And Mine

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Went the clock on the wall. One cursed clunk after another, then another. If it carried on, Natsu was going to smack the damned thing into Edolas, that was for sure. His fists were just itching to punch something. His emotions, high and flying, were an ugly concoction of confusion, anger and frustration.

What the hell had happened today?

After being welcomed home in such a delightful manner from his long and tedious three week solo mission, he had been looking forward to spending the day relaxing at home with his small family. Little did he know that he'd actually be sitting in the infirmary, dwelling over what a shit show it'd all been and how he felt entirely responsible for it. It pissed him off every time he tried to make sense it and if he wasn't careful he was going to blow a fuse. Where was Gray when you needed him?

When he busted through the guild doors, he'd been surprised to find it practically empty, even Porlyusica had gone home, but luckily they'd caught Wendy just before she was about to leave. He felt a little disappointed that no one was around, the hot tempered fire mage had been hoping for a distraction. A distraction from the thoughts that plagued his mind, from the guilt and mental torment he was subjecting himself to.

But alas, there really was no getting away from it and Natsu knew that, even if he were to use Gray as his punching bag. In fact, he'd even let Erza beat him into next week if he knew it would make a difference, but things were never as easy as that. His mind would just return to the events of the day, his grief would resurface and begin to torture him all over again.

He felt so awful about it all. Never in a million years would he ever intentionally hurt Lucy. The sight of her laying in his arms, hissing and groaning from the excruciating pain of her singed flesh was an image that wouldn't be leaving his mind any time soon. If only he'd listened in the first place and took heed of her pleas to stop, then they wouldn't be in this mess. She now laid there on a bed with her mangled clothes discarded, while Wendy did her best to heal the nasty burns that embellished her skin.

And that was just Lucy; Haru was an entirely different story. With the blonde out of commission, Natsu had been tasked with the sole responsibility for calming the baby down and after being set on fire, it was no wonder he was reluctant to do anything but scream. However, Mira had offered to use her sleeping spell and after agreeing, the little boy had finally snuggled down into his fathers arms, seemingly at peace with the world.

A welcomed relief to his ringing ears perhaps, but it still hadn't helped Natsu feel any better. Every time he peered down at the infant, swaddled in his white scarf, he couldn't help the regret that followed. The ever present red tint of Haru's cheeks or his swollen, darkened eyes, gained from rubbing them incessantly, were a constant reminder of the fire mages ignorance.

The longer he dwelled on the subject, the more he felt his blood begin to boil. The growing temperature of the room was enough to put any sauna to shame and it didn't go unnoticed by the other occupants, including the little one in his lap.

It took a small, clammy hand to wrap around the young fathers finger to make him stop in his tracks and cool off again. The touch of Haru's squishy skin brought a welcomed relief that instantly dissipated the smoke emanating from Natsu's body. It sobered his muddled mind just enough to put him at ease, bringing about those familiar feelings of the love he had for the infant snoring away and with a strained squint, the beginnings of a smile could be seen teasing the man's lips, albeit briefly.

"There you go, Lucy, all done. Sorry it took so long, some of the wounds were pretty deep, but they're all gone now." Wendy smiled at the blonde, wiping the sweat away from her brow. "Make sure to take it easy for a while, you were wounded pretty badly and your body seems quite fatigued, but I'm sure Natsu will look after you."

"Thank you, Wendy. I really appreciate it." Lucy sat herself up and covered her exposed chest with the blanket from the bed. Wendy was right, she was tired, just that mere movement was a physical struggle, her body felt heavy and sluggish.

"I'll be back soon to check on you." Wendy stood from her chair and with Carla flying along behind her, they left the infirmary.

That left the trio alone for the first time since the incident and Lucy, for once, wasn't sure what to say to the dragon slayer. She felt so guilty for what she'd done. Natsu had tried his best to help Haru and all she'd accomplished was to get in the way. She was so stupid sometimes! If she hadn't intervened, they wouldn't be in this mess and Haru could've been cured by now.

It was that very thought that got to her the most, her selfishness had taken the attention away from the baby and for what? It'd only caused more pain than good. Natsu had told her to believe in him and she'd said she did, yet even after being told to stay back, her legs had carried her forwards. The image of Haru screaming at the top of his lungs whilst encased in Natsu's flames was something that would surely bring her nightmares. The look of Natsu's heart broken face when he saw her all burnt and in pain; the disappointment and grief clear in his eyes made it hard for her to even look at him.

What if Natsu was angry? She didn't know if she could handle him being angry right now and by the feels of it, he was fuming. The temperature of the room kept rising and falling and his expression was so serious. Her nerves just couldn't cope and her heart was going like the clappers. She didn't know how to approach the situation; should she just confront him and beg for forgiveness? Or stay quiet and wait for him to speak first?

Lowering her head, she really had no choice, there was no other option but to implore his forgiveness. "N-Natsu, I-I, er…" The fire mage whipped his head to hers, the serious expression still present on his face and it made her think carefully about how to approach this. Tears welled in her eyes, intensifying the horrible throb from behind her sockets. "I-I'm so sorry!" The tears fell in streams, she didn't expect to gain his sympathy through crying but she couldn't stop them from falling. "I didn't mean to cause such trouble… I-I should have listened to you… I should have stayed back… You weren't hurting him and I knew that, but I just couldn't listen to him cry any longer… h-he sounded so distressed… Please forgive me! I don't want you to be angry-"

A pair of warm, soft lips pressed urgently against hers, effectively silencing the rambles that were flooding out of her mouth. Surprising her at first, but she caved almost immediately. His scent lulled her into a sense of calm and contentment, his heat burning onto her tongue and seeping down into her belly. It was like he could read her mind sometimes, this was exactly what she'd needed and it made her feel better. She could tell their lip locking was having the same effect on him, judging by his unwillingness to separate so soon, claiming them for a second time and then a third as if he were starved of her.

Once he'd sufficiently had his fill, he pulled his head away enough to focus on her glossy, chocolate irises, unshed tears still puddling near the corners. His breath was heavy after such an intense moment between them, fanning against her chin and cheeks, cooling the wet streaks that remained on her blotchy skin. She stared at him, waiting with bated breath for something, anything to come out of his mouth.

"How could I be angry at you, Lucy? You did nothing wrong…" Natsu spoke softly, confused by her apology. "I'm actually glad you intervened. I should have stopped and listened when you told me to but I didn't and then you…" With his eyes half lidded and directed below her chin, he sighed, Lucy's burnt body flashing through his mind. He reached his hand up to her collar bone and trailed his fingers over where the wounds had been. "Sorry it took you getting hurt like that for me to stop, I never meant to cause you such pain."

Too focused on the delicate skin of her neck and chest, he hadn't noticed the smile that edged it's way onto Lucy's lips. She'd come to the realisation that they'd both been sat there blaming themselves for what went down, when really neither were at fault, not really. Lucy had been healed, it was in the past and it was time to move forward and focus on what was important: Haru.

"What a day it's been, huh?" She chuckled, attempting to make light of the situation.

The fire mages eyes flickered upwards to where that sweet sound had escaped from and caught sight of that beautiful, unwavering smile of hers, mirroring it with his own lopsided quirk. Natsu tipped his head slightly so he had full access to her enticing lips again, desperate to taste her just one more time. His hand circled the base of her neck and around to her hairline. Pressing his mouth to the corners of hers, he gently kissed his way over the curvature of her smile until their lips meshed perfectly in the middle.

Tangling her hands into his hair, she'd completely forgotten about her blanket and mindlessly let it fall, exposing her large pert chest to all that were present, which luckily, was only Natsu. Taking full advantage of the moment, his hand slowly ventured down towards the form of her breast, trailing his fingers lightly over the soft mound, headed dangerously close to her erect nipple when the door swung open…

"Natsu! Lucy! We came as quickly as we… h-heard… Oh my!" Erza's face went as red as her hair, eyes like saucers and mouth hanging down by the floor.

"Aargh, jeez! There are children present, have some decency!" Gray turned away, a rather dark blush painted his face, giving away his embarrassment. He quickly covered Wendy's face so that she couldn't see anything either.

Natsu and Lucy's heads snapped to where their team stood by the door, all red faced and wide-eyed like they'd just seen a ghost. Lucy squealed and forced herself away from Natsu to regain some level of decorum, quickly covering her chest once again and hiding her face along with it.

Not really caring about being caught, Natsu gave an exaggerated huff and slumped back into his chair, revealing his disappointment through a childish pout. Just a few more minutes, that's all he wanted. It'd felt so good to kiss Lucy and lose himself in the moment, finally finding that distraction and here they were ruining it! He knew there were bigger things to deal with right now, but a few minutes alone with his blonde partner wasn't going to do any harm.

"Why can't you guys ever knock before barging in?" Lucy found it ironic that Natsu of all people, could say that with such a straight face.

"You think this is bad? Try living with them, they're always at it! I never know what I'm gonna find." Happy shivered at the very thought as he made his way over to the bed that Lucy was sat on. "In fact, it was just this morning that they-"

"Not another word, cat! What have I told you about saying stuff like that out loud?!" Lucy growled at him, shoving her hand against his mouth to stop anything else from leaking out.

"Gross! I feel for ya, Happy, that must be rough!" Gray said, trying to wind the fire mage up.

"Gross?! There's nothin' gross about it, Lucy's beautiful! You and Juvia though… That's the stuff of nightmares." Natsu smirked, like what he was saying was comedy gold.

"Hey! You wanna say that again- Ow!" Gray clutched at the back of his head where Erza had just smacked him, grimacing at the pain whilst Natsu sniggered at his misfortune.

"We're deeply sorry for intrusion, but we came as soon as Wendy told us what happened." Erza, ever the dramatist, bowed at the pair as she apologised, making things even more awkward.

"That's very sweet, but could you maybe knock next time? I'm not exactly decent…" A small blush covered Lucy's cheeks as she subconsciously adjusted the blanket around her chest.

"Can't you just use one of your star dresses? They're made to fit you, right?" Happy asked, watching Lucy's face light up at the idea and then drop just as quickly.

"Well, I guess I could… But they're not self sustaining and I'm not sure how long I'll need it for, they can be quite draining." Lucy explained as she looked down at herself, eyes like fried eggs when she noticed her still very erect nipples peaking through the translucent fabric. "But what the hell! I'll just have to put up with it."

Too embarrassed to care, Lucy jumped up onto her still shaky legs and pulled a random gold key from the bunch; Virgo. One of her stronger spirits indeed, but it didn't matter, not any more. In a flash of light the maids attire adorned Lucy's body and she could feel the pull on her magic power instantly, fatiguing her further than before. Brushing off the feeling though, she went to sit back down when a wave of nausea hit her.

Her eyes widened a little, shocked by the sudden rush of queasiness that took over her form, fearing if she opened her mouth to speak, something else might spurt out instead. She placed a hand on her stomach and inhaled a deep breath, hoping the feeling would subside.

"Is everything alright, Luce? 'Cause you're not looking so good. Does your stomach hurt or something?" Natsu asked, concern filling his features as he watched her finally straighten herself up and smile at him like it was nothing.

"No, Natsu, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. I said this morning I haven't had much sleep and this week has really taken it out of me." Lucy dismissed it a little too readily for Natsu's liking and he wasn't overly convinced with her reasoning either; he'd been tired plenty of times whilst using magic but never had it made him feel unwell. "It's gone now anyway, let's just concentrate on Haru, he's more important."

Grunting his disapproval, Natsu reluctantly relented. He'd wanted to press her further but at the same time knew she was right; Haru was more important right now and needed their fullest attention. However, that didn't mean Natsu was just gonna leave it, he'd definitely be keeping his eye on her for any more funny turns and he'd almost certainly be questioning her about it later.

"If you needed clothes, Lucy, I have plenty for you to chose from. What form of dress would you like?" Erza asked, as she began to summon her entire inventory for Lucy to pick from.

Amidst all of the wedding dresses, armour and skimpy lingerie, there were some normal looking clothes as well. Lucy was impressed by the sheer amount of clothing Erza had the ability to summon, and it just kept coming. It was baffling really… If she could bring forth all of this, then one might question why she always insisted on taking that huge wagon with her on jobs?

"I'll take these, Erza, they look cute!" Lucy said, picking a cute little pink and white top and pleated mini skirt with black boots, quickly putting them on behind Natsu. As soon as she was done, she released the star dress and the pull on her magic eased off. "Thanks, that's much better!"

"Happy to be of service, Lucy!" Erza beamed, dispelling the other items of clothing that swamped the room.

The atmosphere slowly relaxed again, everyone took a seat around the baby, who was now cosily laying against his mothers chest, and made themselves comfortable. Mindlessly rocking side to side, Lucy thought it was sweet that they'd all come to check on them. But regardless of who was there, they were still no closer to treating Haru's sickness.

Both her and Natsu were opposed to the idea of letting someone else try their magic on Haru. If Natsu's hadn't worked then she highly doubted anyone else's would do the trick. It really left them stumped for answers; what else could they do to help the little one? And what would happen if they left him for too long?

Above all of that though, there was one thing that really puzzled Lucy and she was surprised that no one else had mentioned it yet. If anything it was a question that they all should've been asking; why hadn't Natsu's magic worked? Haru had definitely been scared enough, she distinctly remembered his shrieks of terror, yet it had triggered nothing.

It was utterly baffling, the stellar mage just couldn't make any sense of it and with no clear path to follow now, where did that leave them? Had they done something wrong? Or was there something more at play here? Whatever the reason, it didn't sit right with the anxious mother and it was starting to make her feel uneasy to say the least.

"Whatcha thinkin'? You're looking kinda sad, Luce, are you still not feeling well?" Natsu asked, brushing his shoulder against hers to gain her attention.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that, Natsu. I'm just unsure of how to help Haru that's all. I mean, even with Porlyusica's advice, we're still no closer than we were this morning." The blonde sighed; why did it have to be so complicated?

"You've got a point there, what are you guys gonna do?" Gray asked, finding this all a bit bizarre. "Would someone else's magic do the trick?"

"Hell no! I'm not letting you chuck your ice at him! You can forget that idea!" Natsu asserted himself, shutting it down immediately. There was just no way he could bring himself to do it, to watch Haru suffer like that over and over again. Once was enough.

Holding his hands up, Gray submitted, not wanting to get into a real fight with the tenacious dragon slayer. "Alright, hot head, don't blow a gasket! It was just a suggestion."

"Enough you two! Now is not the time for fighting!" Erza boomed over the pair, silencing them before they started anything. She glanced towards Lucy who looked to be in deep thought and softened her expression. "Lucy, why don't you tell everyone what's on your mind, something seems to be troubling you?"

"Oh, er, I-I was just thinking about earlier actually." Caught off guard, the girl in question looked up from the spot that she'd been concentrating on and noticed all eyes were on her, waiting for her to speak. "I just don't understand why Natsu's magic didn't work? We did exactly what Porlyusica asked of us and it did nothing."

"Yeah… You're right, that is a little strange now you mention it. Being enveloped in flames, even harmless one's, would scare any child." Gray answered, scratching his head.

"Is it possible that he was using magic to protect himself anyway and we just weren't aware of it?" Erza asked, placing her thumb and index finger to her chin, head faced towards the ground in deep thought.

"I don't think so. If that were true, he wouldn't still be sick." Wendy replied, mindlessly stroking Carla's head. "Although, I think I've worked out the reason why it didn't."

"You have?!" Both Natsu and Lucy spoke in unison, eyes snapping to the young slayer with wild looks on their faces.

"Er… Yeah… Well, it's just a theory, but I believe it might have something to do with the magic used. It's possible that he didn't feel threatened by it." The slayer explained, earning confused looks all around.

"What do you mean? He was terrified of them!" Lucy replied, wondering what the young girl was getting at.

"Being terrified isn't the same as being in danger. If that were the case you could make him jump and expel the magic that way, but because there's no real threat, there's no real danger. The same goes for Natsu's fire."

"But I thought my flames were threatening?" Natsu had specifically volunteered for that very reason, because fire was dangerous, everyone knew that.

"That is true, Natsu, for most people, but not necessarily for Haru. Ever since you brought him home, he has been witness to your insatiable urge to set things on fire, every chance you get." Erza explained, stepping in to help Wendy explain it better. "He may have found it scary when they got too close because they've never done that before. But fire is something he's familiar with, it's associated with you, his father, the person that protects him, he doesn't understand how dangerous it can be."

"But, that means trying again with someone else's magic. But who's?" Natsu's heightened senses picked up on the sudden rapid heart beat of his partner as the prospect of having to do that all over again was becoming more and more real. Turning to her, he could see her eyes begin to fill with worry and panic, her grip on the infant grew just that little bit tighter and her breathing fell out of it's steady rhythm, replaced with a more uneven tempo.

"What other option do we have? It's that or nothing and who knows what'll happen if you keep Haru waiting too long?" Gray reinforced, he knew they were worried but he also knew that if they didn't get a move on, Haru was going to just keep getting worse and none of them wanted to find out what that would lead to.

"I get that, Gray, believe me, but I can't just make that decision on my own. Luce and I are a team and she needs to be on board with this too, or it doesn't happen." Natsu bit back, feeling the frustration from earlier rear its ugly head.

With Gray giving ultimatums to something the fire mage was already fully aware of, wasn't helping the situation. He had to take Lucy into consideration too, or they'd end up in the exact same predicament.

Gray tsked and looked away, annoyed that they weren't already outside giving it another go. "And how long will that take? Haru needs attention now, Natsu, or he's gonna keep getting worse!"

"It'll take as long as Lucy needs it to take! Last time didn't end so well, so pipe down already!" Natsu's voice raised slightly in volume. He wanted to get on it just as much as Gray did, but he would never go against his partner like that and whether Gray liked it or not, it wasn't his shot to call.

"No! Haru is the one who's sick here, he needs to be seen to now, fire breath!" Gray shot back, working himself up. He knew he shouldn't be feeling so wound up over it, but his patience was wearing thin having wasted enough time already.

"Since when were you so clued up on what to do? Last time I checked, you didn't have any kids!" Natsu spat back sarcastically, he didn't care how he was coming across at this point. He wanted Gray to back off, he'd enough to deal with already.

Lucy watched as the pairs squabbling continued, the constant back and forth over Haru, slowly turning more and more violent. Not even Erza had tried to stop them this time, which was rare. Either way, Lucy knew that Gray was right and that Natsu probably agreed with him too, but felt torn on the situation.

Her fear and worry was now causing friction between her friends; the very friends that had come out of their way to support them. She was stronger than this, she knew that and if what Wendy was saying was true, then they just needed to pick a magic that Haru was unfamiliar with, one he would find threatening and could definitely be considered dangerous.

"I'll do it…"

Stopping in their tracks, all heads veered towards the quiet, timid voice coming from the bed. Natsu's eyes were wide and his mouth open in shock, he hadn't expected Lucy to ever agree to such a thing again, let alone volunteer for it.

"Lucy?" Natsu released the ice mages collar from his grip and let his arms go limp as he took a step towards her. Tilting his head, he wasn't sure what to make of her proposal, feeling Gray's words may have gotten to her more than he realised. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, we'll find another way."

"There is no other way. Porlyusica told us that and for a while I didn't want to believe her, but it's been hours and we've not come up with anything better." Taking a huge breath in, Lucy turned her attentions to the baby laying against her chest. She could feel his rising temperature and knew that it was only a matter of time before he woke up. What would they do then? "Gray's right and I know you agree with him too. The longer we sit here, the worse Haru will get and I don't wanna see that either."

"Are you sure, Lucy? We'll do it, if you don't feel able?" Erza asked, just in case Lucy were to change her mind.

"Thanks Erza, but as his mother, I'm the one that should do it." Lucy stood up, putting on a brave face for them all and carried herself towards the door.

Feeling all eyes watching her leave, she could barely contain her chaotic nerves. Her body was tingling, like pins and needles and the once throbbing headache from behind her eyes, returned in full force as she shakily took herself up the stairs and out of the hall. Walking a little ways from the guild, she found the same tree stump from earlier, deciding it the best place to carry out her plan.

"Luce, wait!" Natsu shouted from behind as he caught up to her. "You don't have to do this alone!"

Turning towards him, she didn't know what to make of his words, "Natsu… Do you trust me?" Her eyes were conflicted and strained with mixed emotions. Reiterating the same question he'd asked her before, however, this time it held a different meaning. It wasn't so much a question of reaffirming his faith in her, but rather to restore her own belief in herself, belief she desperately sort.

"With my life, Lucy—always." The fire mage answered without any hesitation. He moved his hand up to her cheek and tenderly caressed the plump skin there, smiling fondly at her. "You can do this, I know you can." He whispered, closing in on her mouth. And with a gentle lingering kiss on her smooth lips, he stepped back, allowing her to take centre stage.

The blonde could feel the blood thumping in her ears as she turned back to the stump and crouched down beside it. "Haru…" She said in a soft whisper, coaxing the little one on her shoulder to rouse from his sleep. "Come on, baby, Mama needs you to wake up."

Haru began to open his groggy eyes, stretching his chubby arms above his head and bending his chunky body back whilst pulling the cutest, scrunched up face. After giving them a good rub with his balled fists, he opened his bleary eyes fully, adjusting to the dim, evening glow, focusing on the person holding him.

The anxious mother smiled brightly at her son, she didn't want him to see her so forlorn especially when it was obvious he was still feeling so sickly, if his constant whines and grumbles were anything to go by. Before he could get too upset, she placed him upon the tree stump and stood up, her smile fading and quickly turning before the sorrowful look in his eyes got to her any more than it already had. She saw the others standing there, with Natsu just that bit closer to her, waiting for her to reveal her plan.

With one last look at her partner, who's eyes conveyed every ounce of trust he had in her, she summoned the star dress she was going to use and returned her attention to Haru. Sagittarius' magic wasn't one she used all that often, but it was good for long range attack and that's exactly what she needed right now. Everything went silent. She could almost taste the shock on her friends faces behind her; as they digested her tactics.

"Is Lucy really going to-" Wendy whispered.

"Hmm… I'm sure she has a plan in mind." Erza reassured.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that!" Gray admitted.

"I never thought she'd go to such lengths!" Carla exclaimed.

"What's she tryna' do, kill him?" Happy freaked.

"Quiet! You're putting her off! Trust in Lucy, she knows what she's doing!" Natsu butted in before Lucy lost her resolve completely. He could see her hands trembling and resolve waver. If this was going to work, she needed to focus and as scary as it looked, he had faith she would succeed. "Remember, Lucy, you can do this, believe in yourself like I do."

His words were gentle, but she heard them loud and clear. With her left foot placed in front of the other and her left hand outstretched in front of her. She summoned the intricately designed celestial bow and nocked one of the energy arrows, ready to take aim. The tip of the arrow was where all the magic was concentrated, giving off a dazzling show of light, like a firework ready to explode.

Haru could barely see as the blazing light in front blinded him. He'd never seen such a thing before and it was enough to make his bottom lip quiver in fear. It blocked out his vision of everyone standing behind it. No longer able to see his parents, it forced the first few tears to drop from his eyes.

Without any hesitation, Lucy took aim and fired her first shot, summoning another arrow instantly in its place. The bright projectile appeared to be headed straight for the child and everyone around gasped as they watched the arrow shoot forwards. The beaming light shot passed Haru's head, missing him by mere inches and at such immense speed, the little one was too slow to react to it in time before it made contact with a tree behind him, exploding on impact.

The sudden wails filled the air and it made Lucy's stomach churn, she hated that she had to do this, but if it could create a sense of danger then her plan might not all be in vain. She had to keep her resolve, her focus, but that was becoming increasingly hard with a body that was so exhausted and a stomach that wanted to spew it's contents the longer she used her magic for. In fact, it was a similar feeling to when she summoned her Virgo star dress before. She didn't understand what was wrong with her, but in that moment, the headaches, the nausea, the fatigue, they meant nothing, not until Haru was well again and with that, she summoned the strength to fire another shot.

This time the arrow made contact with the ground not far from the tree stump, exploding on impact and making the ground rumble. Little Haru shook with the tremors and screamed even louder. He was frantic, his eyes were blood shot and his voice had begun to crack as it tore through his throat.

The noise that the little one was making was the most distressing thing any of them had ever heard, but none of them could truly feel the pain it was causing the two parents having to bare witness to this, not only once, but twice. It was killing Natsu inside to stand there and watch, now understanding why Lucy had been so fearful when he'd used his fire. It was heart breaking, in any other situation he would have gone absolutely berserk at the idea of someone using their magic on Haru, but this wasn't one of those times and as much as he wanted to comfort and soothe his baby boy, he had to be patient and trust in Lucy's plan.

Lucy, however, was now struggling in a different way, with her body slowly giving up, she could barely keep her star dress from fading. Her face was drenched in sweat and her breathing was so heavy, it was taking all of her effort to catch it. As she forced herself to summon another arrow, her trembling legs gave out, plunging her to the floor.

"Shit! Lucy, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Natsu yelled out, sprinting over to her as fast as he could.

"Stay back!" She shouted back at him, halting his footsteps. "P-Please, I'm fine… J-Just… Stay back and let me finish this." She panted, her focus pixelating and her head began to spin. What was happening to her? She'd never felt like this before! Inwardly cursing herself, she was so damned close, just one more arrow, that's all she needed.

The little one was in such a state, he'd cried so hard his throat sounded sore and his eyes and cheeks looked so red and swollen. His head darted from side to side, searching for his mommy and daddy to appear and save him like last time but no one came. He could neither hear nor see them, only the scary bright light ahead, leaving him feeling alone and vulnerable.

Lucy attempted to stand up again, but her body resisted, unable to move the heavy dead weight of herself and collapsed back onto the floor. Her knees thudded against the cold, hard dirt and in anger, she smacked the ground with her fist. Frustrated that they'd come so close and her body just wouldn't cooperate with her brain for those last few minutes. Tears fell from her eyes, the realisation that she couldn't go on any longer meant Haru would have to suffer this again and again until they got it right. It wasn't fair! She'd been so certain it was going to work and now she could barely even see straight.

"I'm sorry, Haru. You deserve better than this. I've failed you yet again." With little wet droplets pouring onto the floor in front of her, she let the guilt and dread punch through her gut full force, winding her as she hunched over. "What kind of mother am I?"

"A silly one if you believe all that!" Eyes widening, she felt Natsu's presence surround her as he crouched down behind and whispered softly into her ear. Placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on her upper arm, she let his warmth encase her entire body. "Lucy, you're a great mom, but being great doesn't mean you can't accept help." He said, gently lifting her back up onto her feet and nuzzled his head against hers. "We're in this together, right? So let's finish this once and for all!"

As he uttered those final words, Natsu straightened Lucy's arm back out, placing his underneath for support whilst holding the bow still from her shaking. Using his other hand he did the same with the arrow, allowing Lucy to use him to steady herself, his strong muscular arms mimicking hers as she once again took aim. She leaned into him, finding comfort in his warm body and focused all of her remaining magic into her attack.

"You ready?" Taking a steady breath, the blonde nodded at the fire mage behind her and with shaky hands, let go of the arrow and collapsed back into Natsu's waiting arms.

Everything seemed to go by in slow motion, their breath hitched simultaneously as soon as the arrow left the clutches of Lucy's hand and fired directly at the little one. Her heart was hammering against her rib cage and she could feel Natsu's doing the same against her back.

They watched with bated breath to gauge what might happen. With the magic being so bright, it was hard to see past it, they listened carefully to the horrific sound of Haru's crying, hoping and praying that their plan would work, until suddenly… it stopped. Silence befell them all for a moment, lulling them into a false sense of calm. Frozen in place, they waited, none of them knowing what to expect.

With a ferocious roar, an enormous golden magical spiral blasted itself towards the clouds above them. They watched in awe as the turbulent vortex grew larger and larger until it could be seen for miles around. Much like a tornado, it swayed and swirled with the gust it created, lightning zapped around the exterior, making loud crackling sounds. Lucy held onto Natsu's jacket for dear life as the gale force winds nearly swept them both off of their feet. Like a rampaging storm of pure magical power it surged upwards, shining a warm, sun like glow as it gradually dissipated into the sky, becoming one with the atmosphere once more.

"Is everyone okay?" Erza asked as they all came running over to Natsu and Lucy.

"That was some expulsion!" Gray could barely believe his eyes. All that from one small child.

"Haru…" Lucy had one thing in mind once the sky turned blue again and that was to get Haru. "We need to find him!"

"Don't worry I'll get him, Luce, wait here!"

Leaving Lucy with the others, Natsu ran into the dust cloud that had been left behind and used his sense of smell to guide him through the thick fog, towards the little boy. His scent was all over the place, making it hard to pin point his location exactly. Closing his eyes, the fire mage homed in on any noise that sounded remotely like a baby and ran in that direction, hoping to see some kind of movement.

Observing the once pristine woodland, Natsu could barely believe the amount of destruction one small child could cause. The grass was laid flat and the nearby trees no longer stood straight, if at all. It looked like a bomb had gone off and Gramps, for sure, was gonna kick the fire mages ass when he found out.

But he didn't care about all that, because in the distance, he caught sight a small shaped object on the floor that looked uncannily like a chunky baby, playing in the mud, not too far from the, now destroyed, tree stump he'd been sat on. Pure relief washed over Natsu, Haru was alive, and well, and apparently completely unfazed by what he'd just done.

"Hey there, little guy! I've been looking all over for you!" Haru's little ears perked up at the sound of his fathers voice and looked over to where it was coming from. Catching sight of that familiar pink spiky hair and lopsided grin, the infant let out the sweetest little squeal and began to crawl as fast as his little arms and legs would carry. "Come on fella, Dada's waiting!"

Kneeling down, Natsu watched in pure delight as his son so happily made his way to him, climbing up into his lap to be held and cuddled against his Daddy's chest. Natsu felt every single ounce of anxiety wash away now that he had his son back in his arms, looking like his normal self again. Jumping up to his feet, the fire mage tightened his hold on the boy who snuggled down against his broad shoulder.

"Dada!" The baby yelled excitedly, making Natsu chuckle.

"That's right, buddy! And guess who else is waiting to see you?" Natsu waited to see if the child would answer as he made his way back to the group waiting for them. They continued their little conversation until Lucy and the others came into view, both grinning at the group who cheered them.

Lucy, who was barely able to keep her eyes open, found the strength from whatever unknown force and darted right for the two she'd been so desperate to see. Springing into Natsu's arms, making him fall back and onto the floor. She cried tears of joy when she saw the baby, smiling and gurgling away, happy to see his Mama too.

"Mama was so worried about you! Are you feeling better now?" She asked, receiving a cute babble as a reply.

"That was one heck of a show you put on there, kid! I didn't know you had so much magic in you!" Gray exclaimed, smiling at Natsu as a way of apologising for earlier. "You're gonna be one heck of a mage when you grow up!"

"Yes, it was quite a show, maybe as he gets older, Natsu and Lucy will teach him how to control that immense power." Erza said, smiling at the little family huddled together on the ground.

"Oh, I'm so happy it all worked out. Haru's looking as good as new!" Wendy beamed, mirroring Erza's smile.

"Unlike Lucy… She's looking more like death warmed up!" Happy giggled into his paw, earning a glare from the very tired blonde.

"That's very rude, Happy! Lucy has had to put her needs aside for Haru while he was sick, maybe you should try doing the same for once." Carla berated the blue tom cat, not impressed with his lack of sensitivity.

"Sorry. I was only saying she looked super sick…" Happy's eyes looked down like a child being told off by its parent.

"Actually Luce, I've been meaning to ask you about that-" Natsu stopped as he looked down into his lap, both mother and baby had fallen fast asleep in his arms, looking heart meltingly cute all cuddled together. "I guess it'll have to wait." He said as he picked the pair up. "I'm better get these two home, they've had it pretty rough today. Catch ya later guys!" He said his good byes and began his journey home with Happy flying alongside him to keep him company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again!
> 
> My apologies for the really late update. I think I rewrote this chapter maybe 11 or 12 times in the end, I was just so unhappy with it. I got to the point where I wanted to just abandon the story altogether, but it all worked out eventually. I was also super nervous about posting this chapter because there are a few different things I wanted the reader to concentrate on and I hope I conveyed that well enough? I'll be exploring more of those 'things' in the next chapters. That's it for the angst though, I don't think my heart could take much more. I only ever want these guys to be happy!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	15. An Inkling

The moon had come out to play by the time the Heartfilia girl finally stirred from her slumber. Casting shadows across the bed she found herself in, she carefully sat herself up and promptly took in the familiar sight of her bedroom. Goosebumps scattered across her skin as the covers fell from her shoulders. Catching a glimpse of herself, she noticed her clothes were not the same borrowed items she'd worn previously, but a slinky night top instead, one that barely covered much of her midriff and a pair of butt-hungry underwear.

Adjusting to the dim glow peering in through the large window, her eyes pored over the room in hope her memories might return should she find what she was searching for, not that she knew what that was, of course. There was something—something important—she knew, but what? It was right there, staring her blankly in the face, so close she could almost touch it…

"Haru!" She yelled, eyes widening when the events of the previous day came flooding back.

In a blind panic, she scrambled to get herself out of the bed, battling with the covers that didn't seem to want to let go. Cursing at them in her haste, she attempted to swing them off of her and felt the frustration rise when she'd accomplished nothing more than nearly tumble out of the bed. Luckily, a single warm hand reached from behind and grabbed her around the wrist, guiding her back onto the mattress just as she was about to face-plant the floor.

"Lucy, what're you doing? You'll wake everyone up with the noise you're making." Natsu's gravelly voice reached her ears from behind.

Turning around, she noted that he had also just woken up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning loudly. She stared long and hard at him, like she was searching for answers to questions of which she'd not asked yet.

"Natsu…" Tilting her head in confusion, she hadn't even noticed him there. "Where's Haru? Is he okay?"

"He's doing just fine; warm and comfy last time I checked." Natsu grinned, trying to ease the worry that was clear in her expression. "Why don't ya come lay down with me? Then you'll be warm and comfy too!"

"But, I-I…" She hesitantly pulled away from the fire mage, who'd been gently coaxing her back into bed, and walked over to the bedroom door. "I need to peek in on him and see for myself, or I'll never get back to sleep."

Truth be told, when she cracked open his bedroom door, little Haru was fast asleep. A milk bottle still hung from his mouth and a little milky drool had trickled onto the mattress. Lucy stood by his crib side for a moment, drinking in the sight of her son sleeping so peacefully after his ordeal. Smoothing a few wispy black strands away from his eyes, she smiled, relief over taking all sense of dread that had reeked havoc on her and relaxed a little.

Yawning herself, Lucy left the baby's room to return to her own, slipping down under the plush covers. A calmness washed over her, allowing sleep to pull her back in. Her peaceful disposition was quickly ruined when she felt a ruffling of the covers. Her eyes pinged open when two very strong arms came to wrap around her middle and draw her into a muscular torso, one she all but melted into.

"See, I told ya he was fine. You worry too much." The fire mage spoke into her hair, smirking as he nuzzled his head against the top of Lucy's.

"It's not that I didn't believe you; I just needed to see for myself and you were right. He is fine—more than fine—he's perfect!" She confirmed, snuggling into Natsu's firm hold, eyes level with his collar bone. "That was some incredible power he dispelled though, don't you think? It was enormous! I definitely wasn't expecting that!"

"You're telling me, it was awesome! He's gonna be so much fun to spar with when he gets older; I can teach him all kinds of cool stuff!" Natsu beamed in his enthusiasm, already making plans for the little boy.

"You want to teach him your magic? But I thought it was too dangerous? If it weren't for Igneel and his plan, you and the others would have dragonized by now." The blonde pointed out, wondering if the man next to her had thought about the consequences of his magic type.

"Yeah, so? He doesn't have to be a dragon slayer to learn fire magic."

"O-Oh… right. Well, what if he doesn't want to learn fire magic? What if he wants to be a celestial mage, like me?" She asked uncertainly, half expecting him to scoff at the idea.

"Then he'll learn celestial magic… duh! Honestly, Luce, I thought you were the smart one here?" Natsu smirked and Lucy simply rolled her eyes back at him, secretly impressed by his answer.

"What about ice-make magic?" She suggested oh-so innocently, grinning to herself as she heard the displeased growl emanate from Natsu's chest.

"Okay, now you're pushing it…"

Lucy chortled, in turn making Natsu do the same. They turned to each other, moss green peered down whilst chocolate brown gazed up, grinning like idiots no less—like best friends did—just the two of them for the first time since the fire mage had returned from his mission.

Lucy was so contented to have him back in her arms again. The same old dragon slayer that brought joy wherever he went and to whomever he met. A truly pure-natured and beautiful person was he, inside and out, that she really didn't know where her life would be without him.

"I've missed you, Natsu, and I'm so glad you're home now, everything feels normal again." She leaned up to gently caress his cheek with her thumb and felt him move closer, his breath now fanning softly against her mouth.

"I've missed you too, Luce, but I thought about ya everyday!" He gently placed his forehead on hers and relished in her wondrous scent, allowing it to seep into his pores and overtake his senses. "That job was such a drag without you there, it's just not the same."

"At least you had Happy to keep you company. How did it go anyway? I never did get to ask you." She asked, feeling guilty for being so distracted at the time.

"You're gonna wish you hadn't either." He shrugged nonchalantly, obviously not interested in talking about it.

"Oh… Like that, huh? My little wake up call was well received then?" The girl smirked, flicking her nose against his.

Hearing his chuckle rumble through his chest sent a shiver down Lucy's spine. She had certainly stirred something within him. The hunger evident from the way he licked his lips. His tongue glided from one curved corner to the other so fluidly, so intentionally, that he appeared almost predatory. With his face so tantalisingly close, she felt her breath mingle with his. The slight quirk of his lips formed into a knowing smirk once she'd surrendered under his fiery gaze.

Pushing forwards, the lustful dragon welded their lips together, pouring three weeks of needy desire into her mouth for her to swallow down. Lapping it up desperately, a tingle ran from her lips straight down to the heated area between her legs, eliciting a small hum from the pleasant sensation.

He flicked and swirled his tongue across hers, reminding her of all the times he'd done that exact action in other, more intimate places to bring her to the brink of ecstasy. The very thought had her clenching her thighs together to calm the arousal that was surely building. But, she had to pull away all too soon, stifling a yawn that'd rudely interrupted them.

"Oops, sorry!" She heard him snigger this time, clearly amused by her body's impeccably shit timing. "What a way to ruin the mood…"

"Nah, you could never do that." He murmured close to her mouth, looking her dead in the eyes as he spoke so huskily. "I'm always in the mood to fuck you."

Nearly choking on her own spit, she hadn't expected him to be so crude. "Natsu…" She blushed, giving him exactly the reaction he wanted. "You're so dirty! It's a shame I'm too tired to teach you a lesson."

"Is that so?" He smirked, grazing his mouth along her jawline, planting open mouthed kisses all the way along it. "Maybe I need to try a little harder then…" The young man whispered into her ear as he sucked on her lobe, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "Call it, returning the favour."

Using his teeth to nip at her sensitive neck, he deployed his hand to graze languidly down towards her ample chest, lightly brushing over her nipple peeking through the fabric of her top on its journey towards her panties.

"A-And where does your hand think it's going?" She gasped, a vault of electricity shooting down to her groin as he tweaked the erect nipple once more.

"For a little wander…"

His hand delved under her chest and lightly brushed along her curves. Upon settling between her hips, it had one final hurdle to overcome—her panties. He pushed the heel of his palm down into her lower tummy to tuck his fingers inside and slide them deep below the lacy material.

Lucy's eyes flew wide open the moment his heel dug too deeply and unexpectedly shot upright, gasping loudly. Clutching hold of her belly with both hands she looked down at it in shock; a moan of discomfort passed her lips as she felt a wave of nausea hit her straight in the gut.

Her stomach had felt fine not a few moments ago, but now it was twisting and churning unpleasantly. With gritted teeth, she winced, clenching her hands tighter around the tender area in the hopes it might pass.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Natsu asked surprised, sitting up with her to have a closer look. He noticed instantly that her expression was pained and distorted. Her fingers gripped at the hem of her top and seemed to tighten every time her face winced. Was she in pain? Did he hurt her somehow? He didn't remember doing anything to cause such discomfort. "Did I hurt you, Luce?"

"I-It's not yo-" The poor girl covered her mouth with a slight groan, feeling something other than words about to spew out of it.

Natsu placed his hand on her shoulder, feeling her skin begin to warm and moisten under his touch. Honestly, he wasn't all that sure what was wrong or what he could do to help, except to try and offer some sort of comfort. About to ask what he could do for her, the blonde groaned much louder this time and hurried off of the bed, using her legs to push off of it like a slingshot and catapulted out of the door.

"Lucy?!" Natsu exclaimed more urgently, moving quickly to follow after her.

Before he could even reach the bathroom door, the offensive sound of his partner throwing chunks showered his ears. In all the years he'd known Lucy, she'd rarely got sick and he'd very rarely seen her vomit, so this was a new one for him. Unease and, dare he say it, curiosity filled him as he made his way to the bathroom, not fully prepared for the sight that greeted him. The poor blonde was kneeling on the floor, her hunched form hugging the toilet bowl with vomit coating the bottom of it.

Taking the initiative, he knelt down behind her and gathered her hair away from the danger zone. Applying a light pressure, he placed a warm hand on her back and rubbed it in small circles, just like she did for him when he had motion sickness. She continued to puke until there was nothing more to bring up, retching and heaving instead until her ribs and stomach began to ache.

"Ugh! This is so gross… I'm sure this isn't what you meant by repay the favour." Lucy chuckled lightly whilst panting, earning a small half smile from the fire mage.

No, it most definitely wasn't… He'd seen their night going very differently. Not a few minutes ago he had been complete horn dog, now that couldn't be further from the truth.

She leaned herself against Natsu's upper body and placed the back of her sweaty head on his shoulder. Inhaling rapid, shallow breaths through her dry mouth, she closed her strained, watery eyes, knowing the nausea wasn't quite through with her yet.

"Did you eat something funny or what? You don't just throw up like that for no reason." The disconcerted man asked, dragging the clumped, blonde bangs away from her clammy forehead. He was trying to work out just what the heck could be wrong with his sickly girlfriend and what, if anything, they could do to cure it. "Are you in pain, Luce?"

"A-A little… My head is pounding, but it's my stomach that hurts the most. I don't think I've eaten-" The thought of food in that moment twisted her stomach in knots, enough to land her head back in the bowl.

"It's alright, Luce, I gotcha." He quickly gathered her hair again and began running his fingers through the ends, trying to bring her some comfort at least.

She could only describe her stomach pains as something similar to period cramping, but instead of bleeding, it was accompanied by the need to force more and more bile out of her system. With barely enough time to catch her breath in between heaves, her chest had grown tight and heavy causing even more discomfort than before.

The stellar mage didn't know how long she'd spent vomiting in the end; after what'd felt like hours, the nausea finally subsided. A sense of euphoria came over her when she could finally breathe again and Natsu, ever so gently, pulled her back into his chest.

"My chest is so sore!" Hands clasped between her breasts, gulping down as she fought to fill her lungs with needed air.

"I know, you've been at it for a while, Lucy. Do you think you're okay to come back to bed? Some sleep will do you good." She nodded and went to stand. Natsu jumped to his feet first and reached a hand out to carefully bring her up onto unsteady legs. "Take it easy there Luce, you don't wanna make yourself hurl again."

Smiling appreciatively, Lucy grabbed a wash cloth from beside the sink and soaked it with cold water to cool her skin, washing the sweat off in the process. She brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth out to get rid of the nasty taste that lingered there. Once she felt a little fresher, she straightened herself out and took one last glance in the mirror.

"Do I look different to you?" She asked curiously, staring down at her exposed abdomen, not sure if it was just her eyes playing tricks on her.

"Obviously…" Natsu answered, watching Lucy whip her head around to glare at him, giving him scary Erza vibes. "You're all sicky; you're not gonna look normal after all that!" Then she relaxed again, thankful for Natsu's obliviousness to such matters. "Do you need me to get you anything? Water? A bucket?" He sniggered at the last suggestion, earning a playful smack to the arm by an amused but overly exerted blonde.

"Water would be great, thanks." He was gone in a flash.

With an exaggerated yawn and stretch, her jelly-like legs traipsed back to their bedroom. Perching herself on the edge of the bed, Lucy leaned her head down at her sensitive stomach and stared at it curiously, grazing her hands ever so gently over it to test how far she could push without feeling sick again.

She didn't understand what was wrong with her; why was she so sick? Could it have been something that she'd eaten? Or maybe she'd caught a stomach bug? Whatever it was, it seemed to come in bouts and was made worse when she felt tired or drained, like when she'd used her magic. She'd never felt so sick in her life, the odd cold here and there but that was about it.

In general, Lucy felt that she was pretty healthy, she ate well, looked after her body, stayed well hydrated, so to be struck with an unknown sickness like this had knocked her for six, that was for sure.

"Here ya go, Luce." Natsu said, walking into the room. He passed her the water and watched her swig it down in one. "You must've been thirsty! Are you feeling alright now?"

"I don't really know. It's my stomach; it feels… weird, I guess?" Lucy steadily reached over to place the empty glass down on the bedside, careful not to make any sudden movements that might land her back in the bathroom.

"Hmm… You mean like you can't touch it?" Natsu asked, not really understanding what 'weird' meant in this context but took the initiative to go off what he felt like after vomiting.

"Yeah, kinda. Every time I do, I feel sick again. It's super sensitive right now." She sighed dejectedly and let her head fall lazily onto the pillow, bringing her legs up to get comfortable while Natsu got in beside her. "I hope this feeling goes away soon. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning after some sleep?"

"Maybe. But if you don't, I'll look after ya, so you ain't gotta worry." He said, planting a small peck on her cheek and then turning her face with his fingers to place a longer, more loving kiss on her lips. "G'night, Luce."

"Thanks, Natsu, good night." She felt the warmth from his body envelope hers, comforting her sore muscles as his hand laid carefully on her hip and stroked the exposed skin there, relaxing under his touch.

The young slayer waited for her to fall asleep before relaxing completely, exhaling a large sigh as he took in the events of the previous day. He really did hope that Lucy wasn't coming down with some nasty bug, that's all she needed after dealing with Haru being so poorly. If Natsu was being completely honest with himself, he wasn't sure what to think. From what he'd seen so far, he was sceptical to say the least; was this some unknown ailment? Or something else entirely? He didn't know.

Sure she felt nauseous; was vomiting; complained of headaches and fatigue; which were all indications of illness—he knew that. However, something just felt different about her symptoms compared to other times he'd seen her under the weather, the boy just couldn't figure out what.

Lucy had told him she'd spent the better part of the past week awake all day and night feeling stressed about Haru, which would tire anyone out. He deduced that that might explain her fatigue and headaches, but the nausea and vomiting—that he couldn't explain. Not to mention her sensitive stomach and the cramping. Nor could he decipher why she'd struggled so much when using her magic; a bug wouldn't usually interfere with that.

He was no expert on these sorts of matters, hell, it was rare the hot head ever found himself unwell in the first place, so really, what would he know?

But there was an inkling. A hunch you might say or conception, ironically. In the deep recesses of his boggled, clueless mind, he knew he'd come across this sort of thing before. Not all that often but around town, on jobs, even in the guild hall he'd heard mutterings between fellow members and guild mates alike, he'd just never taken the time to care before now.

Now he kinda wished he had…

With his lack of knowledge, Natsu had no idea what his suspicions meant and whether he was actually on to something or just barking up the wrong tree. His brain, unable to make any sense of it, was beginning to hurt from all of the over thinking he was doing and decided to dismiss the idea completely.

Nestling his head into the back of Lucy's hair, he inhaled deeply, her floral scent invading his nostrils and allowed the tiredness to overcome him. Closing his eyes, the slight pang of disappointment didn't go completely unnoticed before he drifted off to sleep.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay while I'm gone?" Natsu asked outside the bathroom door, not overly pleased that Lucy had locked him out. Hearing more vomit hit the pan, he cringed and wondered how much longer she was going to be. "Because I don't wanna leave you like this…" He heard the flush go and the water run, then finally the lock on the door clicked and it swung open, revealing a ghostly pale and zombie(ish) looking Lucy, "Luce, you're looking awful!"

"Thanks, Natsu, always the charmer…" She croaked out, throat sore from throwing up her breakfast. She'd been in and out of the bathroom all morning, puking her guts up, looking more and more, as Happy put it, like death warmed up. "I was kinda hoping I'd feel better today, but I just feel like shit…"

"Maybe you just need some more rest? I could always ask Wendy over?" He suggested, forgetting the young girl had left for a mission that morning. "Oh, actually forget that, what about Porlyusica instead?"

"No, please not her! I think she saw enough of us yesterday and I really don't feel like being shouted at today, my head can't take it." That woman could be frightening at the best of times, it was better to avoid her unless absolutely necessary.

"But Luce, you've been in the bathroom all morning, you gotta see someone about it!" Natsu tried to make her see reason, he didn't want to see her sick any more than she wanted to be sick, but Lucy was stubborn.

"I'll wait for Wendy to heal me; I'm sure I can manage until she comes home."

If Lucy was going to have anyone help, she wanted it from Wendy. The sweet, young dragon slayer was always eager to assist anyone and far from being intimidating or dismissive, unlike the old dragon woman. No matter how well versed Porlyusica was in magical ailments and medicines, particularly potions, she had a hot temper and a dislike for humans, so it was best to take her in small doses.

"You never know, I might feel better by then." Lucy smiled at the fire mage in a weak attempt at easing his worry.

"If you say so, Luce." Realising he wasn't getting anywhere, Natsu sighed. He'd have to figure out another way to help her instead.

Once back in the living room, Lucy slumped onto the couch and smiled at the little one playing on the floor with Happy. The sight of Haru finally acting like his usual self again was enough to brighten her up a bit. He'd been perfect all morning—happy, playful and cheeky, just the way she liked him.

"Hey, Lucy, this'll cheer you up!" Happy gestured to the baby, catching both Lucy and Natsu's attention. "Right Haru, just like we practised, say, Mama!"

Haru looked over to Natsu, who was smiling encouragingly at him, and then to Lucy, who was waiting patiently. It was the one word, he'd been reluctant to say since he'd started trying to speak, but Lucy could hope.

"Mama. Go on, you said it earlier." The cat encouraged.

"He did?" Lucy asked, surprised to learn that she'd missed it.

"He sure did!"

The baby looked apprehensive, sucking on his fingers, it seemed he needed a little extra push now that there was an audience. Happy flew over to Lucy and pointed at her, repeating the word again.

With a smile forming on his face, Haru crawled over to Lucy's feet and yelled at the top of his voice, "Mama!" whilst attempting to clamber up onto her lap.

"Yay! You clever boy, you finally said Mama!" Lucy beamed, picking the little one up and supporting him to stand on her lap.

"Good job, little guy!" Natsu grinned, coming to lean over the couch where Lucy was sitting and pretended to high five the baby. "Next we gotta get you saying Happy."

"Yeah, then fish, then fishing, then yummy fish-"

"Naturally…" Lucy hummed sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the cat.

"Anyway, I think we better head off. What do ya say fella?" Natsu said, picking the small boy up from his mother and placing him on his hip. "I think this little guy can come with me to the guild. It'll give you time to rest and me some time to catch up with him."

"Oh, er… okay." She smiled, liking the sound of having a few hours to herself. "That'd be nice."

The young man smiled down at the pale girl and kissed her cheek, gesturing for Happy to follow him as he walked over and opened the front door. "Catch ya later, Luce!" And off he went, locking the door behind him, leaving the blonde in peace.

"Is Lucy gonna be okay on her own?" Happy asked, flying along beside the dragon slayer. "She's really not looking too good."

"She'll be fine, she just needs some rest, that's all. If she needs me, I'm sure Loke will sense it and come looking for me. Lucy's a tough one; she don't need us pandering to her and getting in the way." He dismissed it knowing fully that Lucy's 'sickness' didn't seem to be as simple as that, but alas, this was the best he could do for now.

The journey to the guild was a pleasant one as they strolled leisurely through the busy streets of Magnolia. Entering the bustling main hall, Natsu quickly slipped passed the unknowing mages drinking away at the bar, not wanting to be cornered by one of them, and made his way to the back room where Master Makarov was waiting for him. The old man had asked to see him about something and the fire mage hoped it wasn't about the destruction Haru had left yesterday. Without knocking, the boy with the baby and flying cat walked in, announcing his presence with a bright smile.

"Natsu, there you are! I didn't think you were gonna show." The short man perched himself on the table and gestured for Natsu to sit amongst the piles of papers that made up the man's office. "How's the little one today? I heard he's had a rough time of it recently?"

"Yeah, but he seems back to normal now. Don't ya, bud?" Natsu grinned at Haru, who'd been eyeing the old man's beard since they'd entered the room. The little boy grinned back and began repeating sounds like 'da' and 'ba' as if he were joining in on the conversation.

"Good, I heard about what happened. Magnolia's Mayor has been here all morning giving me an earful about some woodland that had been… decimated, I think he said. You wouldn't know anything about that now, would you, Natsu?" The old man stared at the young man, his brow and lip raised simultaneously whilst waiting for an answer.

"Well, Natsu?" Happy teased, revelling in the slayers fluster, finding it rather funny and in turn making Haru chuckle too.

"Er… I-I don't know what you're talking about… M-Must've been some one else?" Natsu's voice raised in octaves and he began to sweat profusely, not sure what hell awaited him for what his son had done. Was this now going to become a regular occurrence?

"That's what I thought." The Master said, smiling knowingly, a chuckle passing his lips at the state the fire mage was getting himself into and decided that was punishment enough for now. "However, I did mention that should it have been a Fairy Tail mage responsible, I would personally see to it so that it doesn't happen again."

"R-Right… Sure, Gramps." Natsu stuttered, thankful he wasn't going to suffer the consequences because little Haru had destroyed the woodland. It suddenly dawned on the poor dragon slayer that this was, in fact, almost definitely going to become a regular occurrence, he could just feel it in his bones.

The baby, not knowing the trouble he'd caused, had been too focused on the Masters facial hair and was reaching his chubby little hands out to touch it, but with no one paying him any attention, he did the only thing he knew would work—whine. It was a quiet little noise but enough to catch his father's ears.

"What's the matter, little buddy? Whatcha tryin' to reach for?" Natsu asked, following the baby's line of sight, landing on the old man's face. Furrowing his brows, the slayer looked back at the small boy, "You want Gramps' hat? Alright, kiddo."

The fire mage plucked the hat off of the old man's head, much to Makarov's annoyance, and gave it to the ten month old. Although not what he'd originally wanted, Haru settled for the strange item in his hands, sticking the material straight in his mouth and began to suck it, effectively stopping his whimpers.

"You know I expect that returned, without infant dribble on it?" Makarov stared at the clueless dragon slayer and sighed; who was he kidding? He was never going to see that hat again now that Haru had claimed it. "Oh, and before you head off, Natsu, there was another reason for calling you in here. A job has come through asking for you personally again. You're quite popular it seems." The Master gave him the request paper, watching the fire mages eyes light up with excitement.

"Awesome! This one better be cooler than the last one!" Natsu read through it quickly. It appeared to be the typical 'unknown monster raiding my garden, need help!' sort of request, a stupidly easy one by the looks of it. Reaching the bottom of the paper he saw in big bold writing: the reward. A figure so great, his eyes nearly flew out of his skull.

"Whoa! They're offering that much?" Happy exclaimed, not even knowing what to call a number with that many zero's at the end of it.

"Yes, they are willing to pay that much at the request that it is you, Natsu, that attends. Obviously you don't have to go alone, you can take whoever you want with you."

"Wait 'til I show Lucy the reward, she's gonna be so pumped! That money would last us forever!" He exclaimed, beaming with excitement, wanting to run home and show it to her right away.

Then like a ton of bricks hitting him all at once, he remembered.

Lucy…

As if reading his mind, Happy was the first to speak, "But, Lucy, she's not-" He whispered.

"Yeah, I know, Happy." He looked up from the paper and without any hesitation went to hand it back to the Master, a serious face replacing his excited one. "Sorry, Gramps, but I can't do it this time."

"That's not like you, my boy, is something up?" The bearded man asked, concerned for the fire mage. "What's this about Lucy? You can take her if you want, it's up to you."

"No, I don't think I can, Gramps. She's really sick at the moment and I don't know why." Natsu said sombrely, mindlessly stroking the infants back as his eyes faced the floor.

More time away from her and Haru was definitely not something he would consider; who knows how long this job would take? Taking her with him could've been an option if she'd felt up to it, but with her magic being all weird, he wasn't willing to take the risk.

"Yeah, she's been spewing her guts all morning and yesterday she could barely summon any magic without it tiring her out. What kind of illness does that?" Happy blurted out without thinking.

"Is that right? Have you spoken to Porlyusica about it yet?" Makarov asked.

"No… Lucy told me not to…" Natsu sighed, not knowing who else to turn to. "She said she'd wait until Wendy returned, but who knows when that'll be?"

"It'll be about a week before that happens. There are other doctors she could see in the town, but if it's affecting her magic then I doubt they'll be of much use. The only other option is you go to Porlyusica and ask her yourself, Lucy doesn't have to know you've been." Makarov could see it was getting the fire mage down; he'd always been fiercely protective of his friends and particularly Lucy. He absolutely loathed it when he couldn't make her feel better. "I'm sure it'll work itself out, my boy, Lucy's strong enough to get through it, whatever it is."

"Yeah, Natsu! Lucy's beaten worse than some sickness bug before, she'll be fine!" Happy chirped in, his eager expression popping up in front of Natsu's.

"Your right, come on then Happy, let's go. See ya, Gramps." Natsu feigned a smile for the old man and left the room, his lips dropping into a frown the moment the door slammed shut.

It wasn't that he didn't believe them, he knew Lucy could cope, that wasn't the problem. His issue with it all was that it didn't seem to be acting like any ordinary ailment. It affected things that it shouldn't and that made him feel even more incompetent than he already did, but worse than all of that, he felt helpless.

The dragon slayer was desperate to get some answers to what was wrong with his pretty blonde and there was only one way he knew he could do that. If he went to the old woman healer to ask for advise, that would go directly against Lucy's wishes; but on the other hand, could he really sit around and watch her suffer the way she had been?

If she would just let him ask for her like Gramps had suggested, she'd be better in no time. They'd even be able to go on that job together, he knew how Lucy was with money and that was one hell of a reward he'd just passed up.

All this crap was doing his head in, he needed some fresh air, some time alone to think things through before he made any rash decisions. Happy had wanted to stay behind at the guild. Glad the cat could see he needed space, Natsu headed out of the door, ignoring his guild mates shout out to him, they were but a buzzing sound amidst the chaos in his brain. Not up to explaining it all to them, he continued forward, legs guiding him towards the park.

It'd been hours, well, it'd felt like hours since he'd been sat there, in the same spot, entertaining the little one who was playing in the grass. Haru had a way of making everything bright in the dullest of moments. His little face was so cute and his smile so happy, it was hard not to mirror. Seeing the world through the infants eyes was both refreshing and simple, with everything so new and exciting, Natsu found himself getting excited for him. But that usual happy, contented feeling had been duly quashed by everything else on his mind and it was starting to irritate him.

"Whatcha got there? A stick? If that's really what ya wanna play with then go for it, buddy." Natsu chuckled, watching Haru try to pick up a stick twice the size of him was a sight to behold, settling for munching on it instead, spurring Natsu into 'daddy mode'. "I wouldn't go eating that if I were you! That's gotta taste nasty and Mama's not gonna like it if she finds you with splinters in your mouth. Let's chuck it away and find something else to play with, how does that sound?" Natsu took the stick out of the baby's mouth and coaxed it out of his hold. Launching it in a random direction, he'd failed to notice the horror-stricken expression on Haru's face.

It began with a whimper, with his bottom lip jutted out and quivering, a full on wail came next, piercing the poor slayers ears, shocking him and making him wince. "Hey, no, don't cry! Daddy didn't mean to throw your stick away, er…" Struggling to find something to replace it, Natsu whipped his head in every direction, finally settling on giving his scarf.. "Here ya go, that's much better. You can suck on that as much as you want."

"Huh… So you do know how to parent, who'd have thought?" A low male voice mocked from above. Glancing up, Natsu saw none other than the ice-make mage himself standing there, half naked as always, smirking down at him.

"Well, duh! That's because I am one!" Natsu rolled his eyes like Gray was the stupid one.

Huffing at his friends idiocy, Gray ignored him and sat down, greeting little Haru with a smile and a wave. "You're looking much better now little guy, everyone was worried about you yesterday!" Ruffling the baby's thick hair, the young man chuckled, in turn, receiving incoherent babbles back. "Although you on the other hand…" He turned to Natsu, "What're you doing out here by yourself? It ain't like you to want peace and quiet."

"What's that supposed to mean? I like it every now and then; there's nothing weird about that." Natsu had avoided eye contact with the raven haired mage since he'd sat down. He knew he was acting odd, but he just couldn't help it.

"When it comes to you, Flame brain, it's very weird. And you didn't answer my question." Gray knew something was up, regardless of how often they fought, they were very in tune with one another, some would say in a brotherly capacity. "If you're not gonna tell me, I could always guess? And from where I'm standing, it looks like something to do with Lucy, am I right?"

Natsu tsked, pretending not to be impressed by the half-naked man's insightfulness. Gray waited patiently for an answer, a smirk ever present on his face. But he received nothing from the suspiciously quiet Natsu, which, in itself, was his answer. "Right, so it's about Lucy, that's obvious. Did she finally kick you out?"

"What? No, why would she do that?" Confused, the pink haired man turned to his rival and knitted his brows together.

"Alright, well, I thought maybe she'd come to her senses, ya know." Gray cocked his brow up teasingly as he took great enjoyment in seeing the annoyance rise within the fiery tempered slayer. "Well, if it isn't that, then… huh… I got nothing… Just tell me why you're here, Natsu?"

"Well, why're you here, Snowflake? You don't have to be; you could always go bother someone else." Natsu bit back, not wanting this sort of interrogation and especially not from Gray Fullbuster, of all people.

"I could, but they're not as fun to annoy and I have my own reasons for wanting to see you."

The ice mage leaned forward to grab Haru and hold him in his lap, doing that funny baby talk thing and laughing when the infant responded. Natsu watched their small exchange, confused that Gray actually wanted to see him about something other than brawling. Intrigued, he waited for the topless man to start speaking.

"I actually came here to, er… well, apologise for something." He stuttered, placing his hand on the back of his head, whilst looking slightly embarrassed.

Natsu remained quiet, speechless in fact, not sure whether the guy was being serious or if this was some elaborate prank. Gray had never apologised to him before, so this was definitely a peculiar experience for the both of them, one to be cautious of.

"You don't gotta look at me like I've got two heads or somethin', I can be mature to admit when I'm wrong… sometimes." Gray added, not entirely keen on the shocked gawk he was receiving from the fire mage. "It's about yesterday actually. The way I reacted about helping Haru and our fight because of it; he's your son after all and it wasn't my place to say those things. I can't imagine how I made Lucy feel, she was struggling enough already without me making it worse. It was wrong of me to do that, so I'm sorry."

If he was being honest, Natsu had forgotten all about that, putting it to the back of his mind like he did with all of his bickering with Gray, it was the least of his worries at the moment. But the ice mage did have a point, their disagreement had gone beyond the boundaries of their usual rivalry banter, having brought not only Haru into it, but Lucy as well.

"I didn't mean to explode like that, I've kinda had a lot going on and I took it out on you guys." Gray added, his earlier smirk gone and mood now dampened.

Natsu could see the man was troubled; something was bothering his friend deep down under that hard exterior, but was reluctant to say what. He'd been eyeing him carefully; he knew him apologising smelt off and now he just needed to know why?

"Yeah, so quit broodin' and spit it out." Natsu said, not wanting to give away too much that he was concerned for his frenemy, but also completely clueless as to what he might tell him.

Sighing dejectedly, Gray answered, "Natsu, what's it like?" He couldn't bring himself to look at the fire mage, his eyes trained on the infant in his lap.

"What is what like?"

"You know, this." He gestured to the infant playing with his father's scarf, still comfortably sat in the ice mages lap.

"You mean having a kid?" Natsu asked, garnering the attention of said child when he spoke. "It's the best thing ever!" The young father exclaimed with his usual, vibrant enthusiasm, lightening the mood without even meaning too. "Why'd you wanna know?"

At first Gray stayed quiet, not knowing how to answer that question without it all becoming too real for him. He was worried for sure, scared of the unknown, not knowing if he was prepared enough for such a life changing experience, yet now, he really had no choice and it didn't take long for Natsu to cotton on to what was going on.

"Oh! I get it! You're just worried that your kid ain't gonna be as great as mine." Natsu smirked at Gray's dumbstruck expression, chuckling as he turned his attention to Haru briefly, "Did ya hear that kiddo? You're gonna have a new buddy to play with!" Sniggering, Haru gave one of his 'Natsu' grins and decided to crawl his way over and sit in his fathers lap instead.

"Whoa! Hold on a second! I never said that; who said I was having one? Maybe I was just asking out of curiosity?" Gray began fidgeting, his eyes shifting between Natsu's knowing eyes and his smug grin.

"Uh-huh… And if I were to go to Juvia right now…"

"No! Okay, you're right!" Gray panicked, waving his hands to stop Natsu from getting up. "Please don't do that, she didn't want anyone knowing until she felt well enough to return to the guild. She wanted to be there to tell everyone herself. Which is fine but what a pain it's been having to pretend she'd caught some weird bug on her last mission and that's the reason she hasn't shown her face recently."

"Why is she sick?" Natsu asked, curious to find out more. He didn't know a whole lot about what women went through when having a baby, he'd never experienced that with Lucy—they'd skipped that part. "The baby makes her sick?"

"Well, yeah, and a bunch of other stuff. It's like living with a bag of hormones at the moment. One minute she's normal, then she puking her guts out, then she's crying for whatever unknown reason. Honestly, man, I don't know where my head is at right now, I just can't keep up!" Gray sure did look frazzled, now that he had openly said it out loud, his own mood swings and weird behaviour made a bit more sense.

"Hasn't Juvia always been like that? Apart from the blowing chunks bit."

"I guess so, but now she's even crazier."

"Aren't you happy about it though? 'Cause I'm sure Juvia is." The slayer asked, curiously.

"Yeah, sure I am, but I'm terrified too. It's just weird ya know? And with her magic acting up lately, she hasn't been able to go on any jobs with me." Gray shrugged, not seeming too bothered by it.

"Wait, what did you say?" Natsu's mind had gone into overdrive the moment those words left the demon slayers mouth. "The baby… It affects her magic too?!"

"Yeah, it drains her, makes her sick and tired. Although, Porlyusica said that's a symptom that eventually wears off." Gray said, eyeing the dragon slayer as his eyes became like two saucers, a gaping mouth to match. "What? Did I say something?" Not having a clue what was going on, the ice mage stared at his friend, not knowing what he'd said wrong.

"N-No, it's, uh, L-Lucy, she's… I gotta go!" The pink haired boy hopped to his feet and as quick as lightning he was in the distance, yelling his thanks behind him.

"Wait, Natsu! You never told me… what was wrong with Lucy?" Already out of sight by the time Gray had finished speaking, he sighed and shook his head. "That idiot…" He muttered under his breath, ignoring the horrified stares of the people around him as he took himself out of the park, never looking down to see that he'd lost his trousers now too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I return with a new chapter! Thank you to everyone who left a review, favourited and/or followed, they really do help me. Last time, I said we were nearing the end and as true as that is, there's still a few more chapters to come and an epilogue I have planned, so I hope I don't disappoint.


	16. The Wriggler

"Hey, old lady! Open up!" The slayer bellowed through the tiny keyhole, beating the same spot on the large, ornate door repeatedly with his fist. "I know you're in there; I can smell you!"

"Go away, boy! I don't like visitors!" The occupant shouted from the other side, infuriating the dragon further.

He hammered his fist harder, determined to get some answers. There was no way he was turning back, not after running all this way. He'd kick the door in if he had to.

Haru, who was tucked into his arms, didn't seem to mind the small detour, or the loud clattering and yelling. He was perfectly content playing with anything he could get his hands on, namely Natsu's clothing. The occasional "Mama" or "Dada" would escape him but he mostly babbled nonsense to himself.

"At least you're having a good time. Daddy's starting to lose his patience." Natsu muttered the last bit under his breath, grinning at the child through his chagrin. He turned back to the door, "Look, I won't take up much of your time, I just need your advice. It's about Lucy…"

The door swung open with a rush and a thud, crashing into the very tree it was nailed to, causing leaves to fall from their branches. The noise had stunned Natsu into silence as he stared at the very person he'd come to see—Porlyusica. Dressed in her usual attire, she stepped out onto the porch and glowered at the young man, broom in hand, ready to chase him away.

Opening her mouth to scold him for the disruption, she caught sight of the little one he was carrying and closed it again, her hard lines softening. Instead of beating the slayer with her broom, which was the original plan, she held something out in her palm, expecting him to take it.

Eyeing it curiously, he took it from her hand and held it to his face, inspecting it further. It was a small, glass vile with a cork stopper lid, that contained a strange yellow liquid, its consistency was thick and it reminded Natsu, somewhat, of mashed up baby food—the kind Haru loved to eat.

"It's called morning sickness. Give her a few drops of that potion and it should quell its severity." She explained.

The boy accepted her potion and put it into his pocket for safe keeping, "Thanks! Lucy'll be glad of that. Only, it's not just her sickness that I'm-"

"I know why you're here. I could tell when I saw you all the other day, I'm just surprised it's taken you both this long to come knocking. So, where is she?" Porlyusica asked, looking behind Natsu for the blonde.

"At home actually. She… kinda doesn't know I'm here… but, I can't watch her suffer like that, I need to know what to do." Natsu pleaded, hoping the healer would help him.

She sighed, unable to refuse his request, "Has it been confirmed?"

"Not really… How do you do that?" Natsu asked, his knowledge on such things were limited.

"Get Lucy to test it, she'll understand. Then once it's confirmed, come back to me, I'll need to run some checks." She said, turning to go back inside.

"Checks? What checks?" There went his plan! Lucy would have to see her after all.

"You want a healthy child, don't you?" She said, as if it were obvious.

"U-Uh…"

The fire mage didn't get a chance to think too much into that before the door was slammed shut in his face, making him along with the baby jump.

The wind picked up a little as he turned to walk away, looking down at Haru, who was starting to snuggle down against his chest. Natsu smiled again at him, trying to mask his annoyance with the old woman's abruptness, "Sorry for making you wait, Haru, I bet you're super bored?"

"Dada…" The child yawned cutely on cue, making Natsu chuckle.

"Yeah, Dada's gonna take you home." He reiterated, turning to make tracks for home.

Natsu all but crashed through the front door, nearly breaking it off its hinges. "Luce? Lucy? Are ya home?" He yelled out into the house. Out of breath and panting, having just ran all the way back.

"Lucy?" He called out again, but with no answer still, he wondered where she could be, "Hmm… Let's go find Mama; she's around here somewhere."

"Mama…" The infant muttered, before going back to sucking on the ends of Natsu's scarf.

Once reaching the top of the stairs, he heard what he suspected might be the reason for Lucy's silence. A noise that'd become all too common over the last few days. Pushing the bathroom door open, he stood in the doorway, smiling sadly at the girl hunched over the toilet bowl once again. He felt nothing but empathy for her, the feeling of being overwhelmingly sick wasn't exactly foreign to him either, so he understood her pain.

The young man crouched down behind the blonde, cringing as she wretched her guts up. "It's alright, Luce. I'm here with you now." He spoke quietly, as not to alarm her of his presence. Placing Haru down next to him, he reached a hand out to her shoulder, the warm touch spreading over her clammy skin.

With one last cough and spit into the bowl, Lucy leaned back, breathing heavily while her watery eyes streamed down her face. She sniffled and blew her nose with a tissue, wiping her mouth at the same time. She took in a large breath and shifted to the man behind her, clutching hold of his jacket while she cried into his chest.

Enveloping her with his arms and cradling her head to him, he spoke tenderly to her, "Has it eased off now?"

"I-I don't know." Her voice was hoarse; her throat sore, "Please don't leave me again."

That struck a chord with Natsu. Never had he heard Lucy ask for him, not like that. She was always way too proud and independent, but this had really taken it's toll on her, not just physically but mentally also, making her feel vulnerable and it saddened him to see her so.

"I won't, Lucy, I promise." He said lowly into her ear, placing an affectionate peck just behind her lobe.

Nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck, she sniffled again, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, "I don't want this, Natsu. I don't care what's causing it; I just want it gone."

Really her words shouldn't have affected him like they did, yet he still felt a sharp tug on his heart. She didn't know the reason behind her vomiting; how could she? He hadn't told her. And now with her so upset, he really didn't know how he was going to do that. Where did he even start?

He'd been so ready to just blurt it out, never considering how Lucy might react to it. In fact, if memory served him, she'd most likely freak until she combusted, or worse, began to cry. This subject had to be handled sensitively and with care, but the longer he left it, the longer he had to dwell on her reaction.

"I know, Luce. Are you sure you still want to wait for Wendy? Gramps told me she won't be back for a week at least." He explained, hoping she might change her mind about seeing the old dragon woman.

"I don't care who I see, as long as they can get rid of it." She said, finally pulling back and wiping her eyes with her sleeve, "I'm just so tired! It's been so long since I've had any real sleep and the puking just won't let up. My tummy hurts, my back aches and my ribs feel like they're being squashed, I have a constant headache and food-" She placed her hand over her mouth again, feeling that overwhelming nausea return. The mention of food, any food, was enough to set her off.

"Just try and take a deep breath, Luce, think of something else."

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath through her nose and let it slowly out through her mouth, turning her attentions to Haru, "Sorry, little man, Mama didn't mean to ignore you, although you seem pretty content sucking on that scarf."

"He's been doing that all afternoon." Natsu answered for the baby, before switching back to Lucy, "Has the feeling gone now?"

"Not yet, it never really does. It just sits there until something triggers it." She explained, trying to breathe through the queasiness.

"That sucks… Oh, that reminds me, I have something for ya!" Remembering the little gift the old woman had given him, he started rummaging through his pockets, pulling out the item he was looking for and handed it to her, "Take it, Luce, it'll help with your, uh…" Wracking his brain for whatever Porlyusica had called it, "…Sickness." Was what he settled for.

Taking it into her hands she stared at it, frowning at the gross substance which could barely be called a liquid. "Um… Are you sure this is fit for human consumption?" She asked, hesitant to put it anywhere near her mouth. "And where'd it even come from?"

"Well, you know you said you didn't want to go to Porlyusica?" He blushed a little, putting his hand behind his head and grinned sheepishly, "I kinda did for ya and she gave me that. She said to take a few drops of it."

"Hmm… If you say so." She popped the cork lid open and let a few small globs dribble out into her mouth, pulling a disgusted face as it slid down her throat and stuck out her tongue. Little Haru found it hysterical and began laughing at his mother, his whole body jiggling up and down, "Well, I'm glad you're finding this funny, because that is repulsive!"

Natsu smiled, "You did look kinda funny, Luce. But at least it'll lessen your morning sickness now." That was it!

Eyes widening, Lucy snapped her head to Natsu, her amusement gone, "Morning sickness?!"

"Yeah, that's what she called it—which is dumb! It's more like all day and night sickness." He chuckled to himself, quickly falling silent when Lucy's expression didn't change at his little joke. He didn't understand; had he said something wrong? "What's up, Luce? I thought it might help."

"You… you think I'm pregnant?" She asked, eyes wide and mouth agape, her stare never leaving him.

Shit!

So morning sickness was a pregnancy thing? He wished he'd known that sooner!

Cursing himself again, he hadn't meant for her to find out like that and what's worse—she looked utterly horrified. Dammit! What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't lie to her; he wouldn't do that. With no other alternative, he did the only thing he could and sighed, nodding his answer and cringing at the sharp inhale he heard pass her lips.

Hoping she wasn't about to blow a fuse, he approached the stunned girl carefully, taking the vile out of her slack grasp and placed it back in his pocket before entwining their fingers together. Quirking one side of his lip into a half smile, he kept quiet and allowed her to process the information she obviously was not expecting.

His eyes dropped from her shocked face to her partially exposed stomach, catching her other hand instinctively come down to cradle it protectively, like an expectant mother would and it made the adrenaline course through his body.

"Pregnant… How did I not think of that?" She muttered under her breath, truly shocked that she hadn't once considered it a possibility. All the signs were there, everything pointed to it—shouted at it in fact, yet it was Natsu who'd realised it first. The boy that once thought humans laid eggs had figured it out before her? Something seemed fishy! "How come you knew? Who've you been speaking to?" Mortified to think that the whole guild knew before she even did.

"Gray, actually." He replied, shrugging, "And Porlyusica helped, obviously."

"Gray?! What does he know about having a baby? Doesn't he usually shy away from that kind of stuff?" She was astounded to find that it was the ice mage of all people. One of the girls from the guild was understandable or even someone like Gajeel who'd experienced it, but Gray?

"You think Juvia gives him a choice? She was crazy before, but now it seems she's on a whole other level." He sniggered a little, feeling kinda sorry for Gray, but kinda not. He'd made his bed and now he'd have to lay in it.

"Oh, so Juvia's pregnant too? How sweet, she's been desperate since… well, since forever!"

Natsu hummed in agreement, his attention focused more on Lucy's calm and collected demeanour, which honestly, he hadn't expected. She seemed happy by the prospect of growing their family, and that filled him with joy.

"Baby fever all 'round, it seems." Chuckling and tapping little Haru's head, the spirit wielder met the slayers eyes, smiling brightly at him with her hand still firmly placed on her lower belly, "I guess being so sick will be worth it, if it's for a baby."

"Our baby, Luce." Wiping the few stray tears away with his thumb, Natsu grinned at her, glad to see that gorgeous smile of hers split her cheeks, "Now we just gotta test it, right? Only, I don't know how you'd do that?"

"Hmm… I do, but… Oh wait! Cana!" She yelled, scrambling to her feet and nearly tripping on the bath mat. Luckily, Natsu was there for her to grab a hold of.

"What's this got to do with Cana?" He asked, confused—nothing good could ever come of her being involved.

"Her 'gifts'." The boy tilted his head; that made even less sense! "You know… ages ago, she pranked us with the condoms and a pregnancy test?" Lucy whispered to him, not wanting to say it out loud in front of Haru.

"Oh yeah! I wondered where they all went!" His eyes lit up when the memory returned to him.

"Please don't remind me…" Happy mumbled under his breath, a look of trauma on his face.

"Oh, hey Happy! I didn't hear ya come in!" Natsu greeted, waving at the exceed hovering in the doorway.

"Why're you guys looking for those things? You mean you're actually gonna use 'em?!" Nearly passing out at the thought, but shut his mouth quickly when he noticed Lucy glaring at him.

Returning to the task at hand, the blonde continued to search through the bathroom cupboards, "I put them away in here somewhere… Aha! Found it!" She cheered, holding and waving it in her hand to show Natsu.

"Awesome!" He cheered, "Now what?"

"Yeah, uh, you're gonna have to wait outside, and I'll let you know when I'm done." Pulling out the stick from its packaging, she crossed her arms and glared at the boy still standing there.

"Wait, what's happening?" The exceed asked, completely lost on their conversation.

"Why do I gotta wait outside? Can't I stay in here while you do it?" Natsu didn't want to be locked out again, it wasn't fair! He wanted to be in on the action!

She deadpanned, "Unless you want to watch me pee on a stick?" He was clueless.

"No, thank you!" Happy was gone in a flash, back down the stairs, no longer caring what they were talking about.

"So what, Luce?" The fire mage shrugged, "I've seen ya do worse."

"Just get out, Natsu, I'll call you back in when I'm done!" Lucy huffed, shooing the idiot out of the bathroom, ignoring his protests and shutting the door behind her.

Natsu exaggerated his huff, chuckling when Haru copied him, "Looks like we gotta wait out here, little guy. Are ya hungry?" The fire mage asked, taking them both down to the kitchen to retrieve some food.

Once returning to the bathroom door, food thoroughly shoved in their pie holes, they waited. When the door finally opened, revealing the girl with the stick in her hand, Natsu could barely contain himself; he wanted to know the results.

"So, what's it say? Are ya, Luce?" He asked, feeling like a kid at Christmas. Upon setting his own eyes on the girl, his face dropped instantly as he watched fresh tears build in her eyes. "Lucy?"

She wiped her snuffling nose and handed the stick to her partner, allowing him to look at the results. "Two lines means positive; one line means negative." Was all she said, using her sleeve to rub at her irritated eyes.

Peering down at the peculiar shaped object in his hand, he knitted his brows together. On the little screen, there was but a singular line—just one. He looked back up to Lucy, confusion still etched into his expression, "Negative?"

"It means, I'm not pregnant." Disappointment flowed out of her very pores; saying it out loud only reaffirmed it; a bitter truth escaping her lips. "Back to the drawing board, I guess. I'm sorry, Natsu, I know that wasn't what you wanted to hear."

Natsu remained silent, processing it all. It was definitely not the result he had been expecting, but it didn't seem to be bothering him as much as it should've. That niggle along with everything else that lead him to that conclusion, surely hadn't been wrong? He should've felt sad, a little disappointed, maybe? Or even a tad guilty for giving Lucy false hope—but he felt none of those things.

It was true that he didn't have well of medical knowledge like Porlyusica or some other doctor. He didn't read a load of books to get his information like Lucy or even Levy, and he certainly had no experience to pull from, and yet his gut still believed there was hope.

He placed the test down and pulled Lucy to him, enveloping her in his warmth to soothe her aching heart. With her nestled into his chest, he nuzzled his head into her hair, breathing in her scent, allowing it to relax him, when an idea struck.

Unexpectedly he pulled away from the sad blonde, passed her the baby and dropped to his knees, much to her embarrassment. He hugged her close, placing his nose on her lower belly and inhaled deeply, ignoring her flustered rants about 'reading the mood'. After several awkward minutes of her whining and his determination to be proven right, he smiled and let go.

"Natsu, you can't just sniff people like that! What were you doing?! I'm not in the mood for jokes." She sighed, watching him hop to his feet.

"Lucy, I think the test is lying."

Perking her head up to meet his eyes, with brows knitted together, she spoke, "Huh? Tests don't lie, Natsu! Don't be so ridiculous! I know it's hard to hear, but we're not having a baby."

"We'll see about that!" He grinned and hoisted her up, carrying her bridal style down the stairs with Haru perched neatly in her lap, ignoring her yells to be put down.

"Right Haru, let's go get some answers! You coming, Happy?" Natsu's usual electric enthusiasm shone brightly through his grin.

"Yeah! Where are we going?" Happy asked, hovering above the slayer's head.

He winked at the Exceed, then proceeded to kick the front door open and walked out into the front garden. "You ready, Luce?" His grin turning mischievous.

"Natsu, put me down! I don't even have any shoes on! Where the heck are we going?!" She screeched into his ear, making him wince, but smile all the same.

"You don't need shoes when I'm carrying you! Hold on tight guys, we're off to see the old dragon woman in the woods. She'll be able to tell us." He said, sprinting off down the path towards their destination, with Happy flying behind.

Eventually, Lucy gave up her struggle. She wasn't going to win; she never did once he'd set his mind on something. That was usually how all of their adventures started off, him dragging her off somewhere new and exciting. Although, she couldn't say going to see the old woman was new or particularly exciting, but if Natsu thought it was the right thing to do, even if the result remained the same, then she had no choice but to tag along.

Finally nearing the tree, Natsu could see from a distance that the door was open, meaning said woman was out and about, probably collecting ingredients for her next potion.

"So you've returned." They heard the gruff voice from behind, swivelling their heads to meet Porlyusica as she walked over to them. "And you've brought the whole cavalry… Well, don't just stand there gawking, in you go!" Natsu quickly made it into the tree, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the cranky woman with a broom. "And put Lucy down, a pregnant woman is more than capable of walking, boy!"

Lucy all but jumped to her feet, mortified and embarrassed by the whole situation and turned to the healer, "That's the thing though, I'm not pregnant, but Natsu insisted on dragging us out here. We're sorry for wasting your time." The flustered blonde seemed a little too eager to leave and tried to make a break for the door; however; the fire breather's quick reflexes caught her wrist before she could reach the door handle.

"Luce, I told you already: the test was lying!" He repeated, eyes pleading with her just to wait and see what the healer might say.

She sighed; feeling a little frustrated by it all, "Tests don't lie, Natsu. I'm not pregnant and that's all there is to it. I'll just have to muddle through whatever this sickness is until it goes away."

"It came out negative, I assume?" Porlyusica intervened, focusing on the blonde huddling close to the door. "Natsu is right, tests can give false negative readings, especially if it's old or hasn't been used properly." The pink haired woman walked closer to the girl, looking her up and down. "I thought that you might be when I saw you last and I'm rarely wrong."

Lucy hadn't expected the woman to actually agree with Natsu. She hadn't thought that there could be something wrong with the test, but then again, it was from Cana and god knows where she'd got it from. She perked her head up a little and was almost reluctant to look at the dragon slayers expression, knowing the smugness of being right would be written all over his face.

"Ha! See, I knew it! There's still a chance, Lucy!" Natsu shone his vibrant, toothy grin at the blonde girl. She could see the hope in his eyes; he really wanted this; to be a father again and her heart all but melted.

"I have other, more thorough ways of testing, if you'd let me?" Porlyusica asked the celestial mage, bringing her back to the present.

Apprehensively, Lucy nodded her head and went to sit on the bed by the window to await further instructions. She was so nervous, hoping for some positive answers, that would prove the test was false. She wasn't sure her heart could take the disappointment a second time, especially if it included Natsu's this time.

"There are a few different ways I can confirm a pregnancy, blood tests and so forth, but the most efficient way is a scan of the area." She said, gathering the instruments she needed whilst awaiting Lucy's approval. "I use a lacrima and it shows an image of your womb."

"O-Okay." Lucy replied, uncertain of what she'd just agreed to.

She laid back on the bed and pulled her top up, revealing her stomach. Taking a deep breath, the celestial mage twisted her head to Natsu, who had knelt down beside her. Her nerves were rattling within her body and was looking for a little reassurance, something to take the edge off of her apprehension.

He smiled at her tenderly and reached out for her hand to hold tight, not entirely convinced it was to ease just her anxiety as opposed to his own. They were about to find out whether or not their own little creation had taken residence in Lucy's womb, and he couldn't describe what an incredibly surreal feeling that was.

Porlyusica first needed to locate where the lacrima should be placed. Using one hand, she pressed firmly just above Lucy's pelvis, then several times around the area. Still tender and overly sensitive, Lucy tried her hardest not to show the discomfort it was causing. It rippled up into her throat, making her feel sick again, only this time she had no choice but to hold it back.

The wincing and quiet gasps didn't go unnoticed by the dragon slayer. He'd been watching the healer like a hawk, making sure nothing hurt Lucy too much. He leant over, understanding how unpleasant it must be and kissed her temple, whilst running his fingers smoothly through her blonde tresses.

The lacrima was a simple looking flat, green crystal that the older woman laid onto the stellar mages bare skin and waited for the image to appear. With a few flashes of light, a picture was formed like a projection hovering just above the lacrima.

"What the heck is that?! It looks like you swallowed a ball!" Happy couldn't take his eyes off of the image.

"That's so cool! I'm totally looking at your insides, Luce!" The fire breather enthused, unable to take his eyes off of the image.

Lucy rolled her eyes at the pair; typical Natsu and Happy, "You're both such idiots…"

"When you're done bickering, I'll explain what you're looking at." Porlyusica cut in. She pointed to the big black oval shape on the projection, that Happy kindly pointed out, and looked at the pair, making sure they were paying attention. "This is the outline of your uterus, Lucy. And from what I can see, it looks perfectly normal and healthy."

"Oh okay, that's good then." She pointed to a smaller, light coloured ball at the bottom of the black oval and knitted her brows together. "So, what's that?"

Moving the lacrima crystal slightly, the healer repositioned it to get a closer look at the small ball and both mages eyes near bulged out of their sockets. Their mouths dropped open and breath hitched simultaneously as the image took on a more human shape, its arms and legs moving rapidly.

"Oh my… Is that…?" Lucy had never seen anything like it, her mouth had gone completely dry and she felt the butterflies in her tummy cause her to quiver, she was in awe.

"Look at what we did, Lucy…" Natsu murmured after a few shocked, silent moments, catching the girl's attention. His eyes were glued to the image, watching it kick out with it's tiny little developing legs and feet. "It's an active little thing…"

"It's a baby, Natsu…" The celestial mages eyes glazed over, unable to control the flood of emotions that entered her system.

For the first time, the fire breather peeled his sights away from the projection and looked to his partner. His own tears peaked at the corners, feeling so overwhelmingly happy to be able to share this with her.

"Mm… it sure is, Luce." His voice sounded airy, sleepy almost, like his body had simply relaxed. His brilliant smile beamed at the blonde, making her heart skip a beat as she turned to face him fully, the sound of their little one's heart beat filling their ears.

"Look Haru, you're gonna have a little brother or sister." Lucy said as Natsu held him up to see, pointing at the even tinier one wriggling around on the projection. "It's a little one, just like you!"

Porlyusica turned the crystal once more, allowing them to see the baby from a different angle, "As you can see, Lucy, you are pregnant and by the looks of it, I'd say you have been for about ten weeks now."

"Ten weeks?! Surely that's not right; I would have noticed long before now!" Lucy was stunned to learn she was that far along already. The symptoms had only just started and she'd menstruated within that time—hadn't she?

"Not necessarily, pregnancy doesn't follow a certain set of rules. When Juvia came to see me regarding the same thing, she'd been suffering with symptoms from around the six week mark. Levy, on the other hand, had no symptoms and she was carrying twins. Some women experience symptoms just at the beginning while others, all the way through. Some later and some sooner, and some none at all."

"Oh… I didn't know. So, what happens now?" Lucy asked, feeling a little bit of disappointment when the healer deactivated the lacrima and removed it from her belly—she could've easily watched it all day.

"Yeah, when will it be born? Is it a long wait?" Natsu butted in, moving to sit next to the girl on the bed.

"And I thought Gray was clueless… A pregnancy takes nine months or approximately forty weeks, meaning Lucy has about thirty weeks left to go."

"That long? But that's ages away!" Natsu whined, turning into a child himself.

"Yeah, why can't it be born now?" Happy joined in, wanting to meet the little one already.

"Quiet, boys, before I kick you out!" She threatened, returning her attentions to the blonde, "Look after yourself, Lucy. A stressed mother is a stressed baby, but so far everything is looking as it should." The woman returned her equipment to their places and snapped her head to the little family still sitting there, "What're you both still doing here? Get out!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Natsu and Lucy jumped to their feet at lightning speed and ran out of the door, making sure they were out of sight of the old woman before slowing to a halt.

"Ugh! Now my feet are all dirty!" Lucy groaned, lifting her bare feet up one by one to inspect them, grimacing at all of the mud now coating them. "This is your fault- Mmph!"

A pair of warm, smooth lips silenced her, pressing urgently to her mouth, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. With him taking the lead, Lucy relaxed into it and enjoyed the feel of his mouth on hers, their tongues interloping, causing butterflies to re-enter her stomach.

Pulling apart, but barely, he stared at her angelic features and couldn't help but smile at the beautiful girl before him. Thanks to her, he was going to be a father again. A father not to just one, but two precious babies and he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

"I love you, Lucy." He grinned, the biggest, widest grin she'd ever seen, so enormous it was almost too much for his face. But it was still heart meltingly cute and to hear him say those words again was enough to turn her into a puddle. It wasn't something he said very often, but she was fine with that. It made times like this all the more special.

"I love you too, Natsu." She could see just how happy he was, his very soul glowing like the fire he wielded. "So, are you going to tell me how you knew?"

He quirked his brow, "Knew what?"

"That the test was wrong." She said, her eyes flickering between his.

"Oh… I, uh, sorta had a feeling, I guess. And I was sure I could smell something." He shrugged, about to lean in for another kiss.

"You could… smell something?" Horrified she pulled her face back; did she smell?!

"Yeah, another scent. I've been able to smell it since I came home the other day, but didn't know what it was until now." The boy explained, bringing her head back to him.

"You can smell the baby?" Lucy's eyes widened in fascination.

"Sure. It's real faint, but if I try hard enough, it's there."

"Wow! That's incredible!" She looked down at herself again and cradled her belly, right where the lacrima had been and pictured their perfect little baby safe and sound in there. "I'm so happy, Natsu."

"Me too, Lucy." Natsu chuckled and finally managed to pull her back in for a loving and tender kiss, relaying all of his own happiness to her in one fluid motion. His hand came up to rest on top of hers, caressing the soft skin of her belly, imagining just how beautiful she was going to look in the months to come, carrying his child.

But their passion was swiftly halted when a certain little fella stopped them in their tracks, placing a hand to where their lips joined and made a cute babble sound, as if he were trying to work out what they were doing. Chuckling, they both turned to Haru, who was still looking at them curiously.

"You two are just nasty!" Happy said, placing himself down on the floor. "Not only do you eat each other, but you're now doing it in front of Haru!"

"We don't eat each other, I have no idea what you're talking about!" Lucy defended, shaking her head.

"Yeah you do and other… more explicit things!" Happy shivered at the thought, "Otherwise you wouldn't be in this situation."

"What situation is that then?" Lucy asked, defiance lacing her voice.

"He means the baby, Luce, even I understood that one!" Natsu piped in.

"Really?!" She exclaimed sarcastically, "Ugh! You guys are infuriating! With any luck, this baby will be a girl, then I won't feel so outnumbered!" She huffed, crossing her arms.

"And she'll still end up like Natsu, and you know it!"

Lucy's expression deflated, her arms sinking to her sides ans sighed "You're right…"

"Anyway, with another mouth to feed, you might wanna reconsider that job, Natsu!" The exceed mentioned, not noticing the dragon slayer shoot daggers at him.

"Oh… What job is that then?" The blonde asked, curiously. She didn't remember Natsu mentioning anything about a job.

"It's nothing really, Luce." Natsu shrugged, playing it down.

"You should have seen the reward! I've never seen that many zero's in a number!" Happy chirped, only now noticing the look his friend was giving him, telling him silently to shut up.

"Natsu, what's up? How come you never said anything?" Lucy asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"It's not that big of a deal. Gramps gave me a request yesterday, but I turned it down, that's all." He explained, seeming a little dismissive but otherwise normal. "Why don't we get ya home? It'll be dinner time soon." Seeing the reluctance in Lucy's face to believe him, he sighed and smiled at her, not ready to have that conversation just yet.

Suddenly her feet were whipped out from under her and she and Haru found themselves in the air, with two strong arms holding them up, "Natsu!"

"What? Can't have Mama all pooped out now can we, Haru?" Natsu laughed along with the infant, grinning widely, "'Cause she's still gotta cook us dinner!" He smirked at the young woman in his arms, who's eyes snapped at to him, glaring at his handsome face.

"Hey! How come I gotta slave away in the kitchen?! I'm pregnant now, you should be making me dinner!" She retorted, huffing and turning her head to the side.

"I don't mind cooking, it's whether you mind having a kitchen or not?"

"On second thought, stay out of the kitchen, you're too much of a fire hazard. But you owe me a foot rub, after all, this is your doing!" She smirked back at him.

"Oh… I never remember you complaining, maybe I'll have to get you to jolt my memory later." He chuckled lowly back, rising to the challenge.

"That's it! You two are disgusting! I'm taking Haru and you can both find somewhere else to do your dirty stuff tonight." Happy whizzed down to snatch the giggling baby from Lucy and speedily zoomed off into the distance, leaving the other two behind.

"Hey! That's no fair! You got a head start!" Not willing to be beaten by a flying cat and a baby, Natsu hurtled himself and Lucy in the same direction, her screams of terror echoing throughout the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> Thanks for everyone that left a review on my last chapter. It really makes me feel good when I read them, especially when the depression hits. :)
> 
> So, this chapter got away from me for a bit, but I'm glad to finally upload it and I really hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Yay! Lucy's pregnant! Who'd have guessed?! With regards to details about her symptoms and pregnancy, I can only go off of my own experience and how I felt at the time, but I understand it's different for everyone. Also, I know Porlyusica is a healer not a doctor, but it's easier and more familiar for everyone to use her in this scenario than to create someone completely new and strange. Who knows? Maybe she does attend births and stuff? I can't see anyone else having the knowledge to do it.
> 
> (And to all those lovely commenters saying how cringey this story is - it's meant to be. It was always going to be full of fluff, and in my eyes, you really can't beat a bit of cringey nalu cuteness. Because canon or not, they're just too dang cute!) ;)
> 
> Any way, let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who supports this story! I try upload as often as my life will allow. Your comments mean a lot to me and give me the motivation to carry on.


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